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State says negotiations
with fast ferry crews at impasse
The Murkowski Administration has declared negotiations with the unions
representing fast ferry workers to be at an impasse, and has petitioned the
Alaska Labor Relations Agency to order mediation.
In addition, the Commissioner of Transportation and Public Facilities, Mike
Barton is threatening to cease operation of the Fairweather on January 25th.
In a letter dated January 3rd, to the Alaska Labor Relations Agency, the
state's Director of Labor Relations, Art Chance, says the state would like
to reduce operations from seven days per-week to four during the winter,
which will require laying off the vessel's second 15-member crew.
However, it will require a new agreement with the three unions in order to
allow operations to continue.
Chance says that it's uneconomic to continue operating the Fairweather under
the terms of last spring's expired agreement.
He says the contract was crafted to cover a period of training and initial
operations and requires that two full crews be paid for a seven -12 hour
days per week with one week on duty and one week off.
Chance says that level of staffing and operation is not economic in the
winter season.
ALRA has been asked to mediate the labor agreement to keep fast ferry in
service beyond January 25th.
Voluntary mediation failed on October 1st and, since then, and state and
union negotiators have met numerous times.
The three maritime unions that represent ferry workers are the Inland
Boatmens’ Union, the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, and the
Masters, Mates and Pilots.
The three ports currently served from Juneau by the Fairweather are Haines,
Skagway, and Sitka.
Juneau residents escape
killer tsunami
Local school teachers Craig Mapes and Kathleen Wiest were among the
Juneau residents in Thailand when the Christmas quake and tsunami occurred.
They were at Caron Beach on the island of Phuket that day, Sunday, December
26th.
Wiest says they were fortunate because of the lay of the land, the full
force of the wave didn't hit the town they were at. She says it was more
like a big surge.
They didn't feel the quake and didn't know what was going on until they saw
people running from the beach and screaming.
She says they were lucky. They had been to the beach earlier that day and
nearly stayed at a hotel right on the beach. Their hotel was a block and a
half from the beach.
They were checked out and ready to leave for the airport when the tsunami
hit. Wiest says their departure was delayed until the next day.
Wiest is an art teacher at D-Z Middle School and Mapes is a vocational
teacher at the high school.
Other Juneau residents there that day included Juneau teacher Richard Steele
and his family. They were a few miles away on Kata Beach. They were at a
hotel overlooking the beach and safe from the destructive waves.
Juneau group raises funds for
tsunami relief
Juneau People for Peace and Justice spent the good part of the day Sunday
raising money for the relief of the tsunami victims.
The group's Carol Anderson says they were at A and P from 11 to 5 and raised
about $3,550.
The donations will go to the tsunami relief efforts of the International Red
Cross.
She says members of her group will be at Rainbow Foods every day this week
from 11:30 to 1:30 collecting donations.
Anderson says Mayor Bruce Botelho plans to proclaim next Saturday, January
8th, a remembrance day, for the people who perished in the tsunami.
Announcement of exact plans is pending, she says.
Governor orders flags
lowered for tsunami victims
JUNEAU (AP) - Governor Murkowski has ordered state flags flown at half staff
this week in memory of the victims of the earthquake and tsunamis in
southern Asia.
State flags should be lowered to half staff until the end of the day on
Friday.
The December 26th tsunami was triggered by the world's most powerful
earthquake in 40 years. More than 150-thousand people have died in Asia and
Africa.
The United States is now leading the international relief effort.
In Indonesia, Americans flew missions from the aircraft carrier U-S-S
Abraham Lincoln along a 120-mile stretch of Sumatra island's ravaged
coastline.
Many of the 60 victims picked up in more than two dozen missions today were
too weak from eight days with little food or water to speak or move. Doctors
say they suffer from pneumonia, broken bones, infected wounds and tetanus.
Greenpeace calls for Alaska
rainforest protection
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The environmental group Greenpeace released a report today
that speaks to Alaska's coastal rainforest.
The group has included the rainforest among America's last remaining intact
forests, and says it should be spared large-scale logging and road building.
In coming up with the eleven, Greenpeace looked at forest fragmentation,
road density, biological diversity and the health of plants and animals.
The more than 14-million-acre coastal rainforest extends hundreds of miles
along Alaska's coast, from its most southern tip to Afognak Island southwest
of Anchorage.
In its report, Greenpeace criticizes forest management by the U-S Forest
Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
Greenpeace official Nancy Hwa says the release of the 48-page report was
meant to coincide with celebrations in Washington, D.C., for the Forest
Service's 100th anniversary.
Eaglecrest manager says it was a good opening weekend
It was a good opening for Juneau's ski area over the weekend.
That according to Eaglecrest Manager Kirk Duncan, who said there was a great turnout for the fireworks New Years Day. About 15-hundred people showed up.
The ski area opened Friday.
Duncan says they would like to have more snow. The bottom lift is not operation because of the lack of snow on the lower mountain.
Duncan says they anticipate being able to open tubing hill in in a couple of weeks. As soon as they get done making snow down on the flats, they plan to move that operation to the tubing hill.
Judge Froehlich
leaves post this week
The last day on the job for Juneau District Court Judge Peter Froehlich is tomorrow (Tuesday).
He says he's really going to miss the work flow, the people he's worked with, even most of the lawyers, and the defendants.
He says they're all good folks. Most are struggling with rough spots in their lives and a lot struggle with their alcoholism. But he says most learn from their mistakes.
He likes to think he helped make a difference in their lives. Froehlich says he's sure tried and he's had a lot of people tell him they've got their life together and think part of it is because of their experience in court.
He plans to travel more and his immediate plans is a trip to Hawaii beginning this week. From there, he'll visit his sons back east and family in Minnesota.
Froehlich served in the post
for 15 and a half years.
Word on a replacement for Judge Froehlich is pending by Governor Murkowski.
The Governor is considering four nominees submitted to him by the Alaska Judicial Council.
Man arrested for sexual abuse of
teen boy
A Juneau man has been jailed in a case involving the sexual abuse of a young
man.
Sergeant Dave Wrightson says the police department was notified before four
New Year's morning that a 14 year old boy had been sexually abused by a 27
year old male acquaintance.
The abuse reportedly occurred during the late evening of December 31st at a
trailer park in the Mendenhall Valley.
Based on their investigation and interviews, police arrested Patrick
Townsend. He was charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree,
a class B felony.
He was jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on no bail.
Fire destroys trailer home,
man admitted to hospital
Capital City Fire Rescue responded to a trailer fire off Mendenhall Loop
Road Saturday before 5 p.m.
Jerome Dennis suffered smoke inhalation and was transported to Bartlett
Regional Hospital where he admitted. He was listed in good condition Sunday
morning.
The cause of the fire is suspected to be a malfunctioning furnace. The
trailer's value was listed at $28,000. Captain Ed Quinto said it was a total
loss.
Dennis reportedly lived at the trailer with three teen-aged children. The
American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Recycling and Waste Reduction report to be presented to Assembly
The Assembly Committee of the Whole meets this evening to receive the final report from the Mayor's Ad Hoc Recycling and Waste Reduction Task Force.
Waste Management Manager Mike Allison, the operator of the local landfill, will address the body to discuss his company's plans.
Members will also review a preliminary legislative priority list.
The meeting begins at 5 p.m. in Assembly Chambers at City Hall.
First Juneau baby of year arrives
early New Year's Day afternoon
The first baby of 2005 at Bartlett Regional Hospital and apparently in
Juneau arrived at 12:52 Saturday afternoon.
His name is Michael Donovan Fred, the son of Michelle and Milton Fred.
Michelle told us Sunday evening that her new son is named after he dad, her
husband's uncle and his best friend.
When asked about her hopes for her new son, she said the only thing she can
hope for is that he's healthy and that he can be whatever he wants to be.
Michael weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 20 inches long.
His dad is a janitor with Superior Services.
Its the couple's third child. The others are two and three years old.
State seeking applications for preservation grants
ANCHORAGE (AP) - People with an interest in preserving historic buildings and structures are invited to apply for a grant from the state's Office of History and Archaeology.
The grants are reimbursable and matching and range from 35-hundred dollars to as much as 50-thousand dollars.
The historic preservation predevelopment and development grants are designed to assist with preserving, stabilizing, restoring and rehabilitating historic buildings and structures.
The properties must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places or be determined eligible for the register.
Individuals, businesses, corporations, local governments and state agencies can apply.
The deadline to apply is 4:30 p-m, Monday, January 31st.
For more information, contact the state Department of Natural Resources' Office of History and Archaeology in Anchorage.
Birders report nearly 2,000 bald eagles in annual B.C. count
BRACKENDALE, British Columbia (AP) - Eagle-eyed birders counted one-thousand-975 eagles during the 19th annual Brackendale Winter Eagle Festival.
Chief counter Thor Froslev says one-thousand-709 were counted last year. The record is three-thousand-766 in 1994.
About 60 volunteers braved freezing temperatures in the Squamish Valley to count the bald eagles. Clear skies yesterday made for perfecting birding. But the bald eagles were elusive, with many perched in the inner forest to avoid a biting wind.
Bald eagles live about 30 years in the wild, with 70 percent of North America's bald eagles found between British Columbia and Alaska.
Copyright ©2005 Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
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