|
High school project team
chooses flexible auditorium option
The High School Project Team has settled on a design option based on an
Anchorage high school.
The team made up of School Board and Assembly members, met today (Thursday)
to decide on program spaces for the new high school redesign.
Of the five options presented, the project team chose the flexible
auditorium design. It's a model based on South Anchorage High School.
In the preferred option, the 500 seats in the auditorium are retractable to
offer flexibility of uses within the auditorium space. The retractable seats
will be auditorium quality.
The option includes, a 2,400 square foot auditorium stage with 500
retractable seats to offer flexibility within the space.
Cowen says the project team rejected the previous proposal- a combined
auditorium/cafeteria design.
The chosen option includes an 12,000 square foot main gymnasium seating
about 1,400 spectators.
There will also be a smaller auxiliary gym
A small engine shop has been included in the new design.
The option also has spaces developed for the previous new high school design
including health, counseling, resource-special education, library, media
center, science, visual arts, music, family and consumer science,
business-vocational education, technology, and several computer labs.
Cowen says the option addresses space allocations for the instructional
needs of a school of 838 students.
She says the common spaces that are problematic for future expansion, are
designed for the 1,012 students that the district expects ten years after
opening.
Cowen says it is not the school that was planned last May.
She says some of the features that were designed for both school and
community can not be accommodated in the scaled down school.
But, she says, it will be a good educational space and benefit the
community.
Designs will be brought back to the project team and high school staff for
their input.
Cowen says the design drivers are flexibility and an opportunity to organize
the school into smaller learning communities.
The scaled down version of the school was approved by voters last year.
The design was developed by the architects, Minch Ritter Voelkers, in
association with school district and CBJ staff.
Police union; management
and city officials meet to discuss shift change
Police union officials met with the police administration and city officials
today. (Thursday)
Officers are scheduled to change from 12 hour to 8 hour shifts on Monday.
The union representing the officers, the Public Safety Employees
Association, is fighting the change.
Officer Paul Comolli, PSEA's local shop vice president attended today's
meeting.
He says both sides "candidly exchanged ideas" and PSEA offered to
work with management to address any concerns they have with the
functionality of 12 hour shifts. Comolli says police department management
declined the offer.
Police Chief Rich Gummow attended the meeting. He says the discussions were
"helpful and informative."
Gummow say they listened PSEA's comments regarding the impact of the changes
from 12 to 8 hour shifts.
He says in essence the union is proposing that the department maintain the
current 12 hour shifts or hold in abeyance the implementation date.
Both sides have agreed to meet again January 14th.
However, the shift change is not part of the union's current bargaining
agreement.
The Chief says his decision to change the shifts will go forward as
scheduled Monday morning beginning at 6 A.M.
Gummow announced the change in November citing a lack of officer continuity
for administrative and prosecutor inquires, and follow-up with witnesses.
He says there are excessive delays in concluding investigations.
Gummow also says fatigue associated with 12 hour shifts is another reason
for making the change.
The union representing police officers says with an eight hour shift,
officers will be required to work five consecutive days carrying over for
many into the weekend, with some officers not getting a weekend off for
years putting a hardship on their families.
Under the current 12 hour shift, officers are off every two or three days.
Police officers ranked sergeant and below, dispatchers and evidence clerks
are represented by the Public Safety Employees Association.
Docks and Harbors to take up a variety of agenda items
The Docks and Harbors Board
of Directors takes up a plan to increase fees among other items on tonight's agenda.
The
board's Finance Committee has been working on a long term plan that address small boat harbors.
Port Director John Stone says the
committee will be asking the board to propose regulations that change fees to accomplish the goals set forth in the that long term plan.
He says the fees will be going up significantly over the next five years. The board is considering increasing fees about two and a half to three times from what they are right now over a five year period.
If the panel approves the fee proposal, they'll be out for public comment until the end of February.
There will be a public hearing January 18th at 5 pm in the Aurora harbor office and on February 17th at 5pm in the Assembly chambers.
The
board is scheduled to take final action February 24th at 7 pm in the Assembly chambers.
Copies of the proposed fees will be available at Docks and Harbors offices, the CBJ webpage, libraries, and the City Clerk's office.
Also on tonight's agenda is an electric utility certification application tariff.
The board will review a tariff that will establish electrical fees for harbor patrons that would be part of the
boards' application to become an electrical utility in the small boat harbors.
Stone say the tariff would be 10 to 15 percent cheaper than what patrons currently pay for electricity to Alaska, Eclectic, Light and Power if the City and Borough of Juneau were to become utility in the harbors.
There are two tideland leases on the agenda.
The first is a request from a landowner at Yankee Cove for a tideland lease so he can put in small boat dock to be used by commercial fishermen and sightseeing.
The dock has already been approved by the Planning Commission.
There's also a request for a tidelands lease for reconstruction of a building on South Franklin
Street. The Planning Commission last week granted a permit for the building and the tideland is required to complete the work.
The 2005 waterfront vendor and loading zone policy at the downtown cruise ship docks is up for action. The policy contains regulations and permit conditions that apply to those operations.
Members will also be reviewing the waterfront plan implementation funding resolution and ordinance that the Assembly is considering.
There's a caretaker agreement for the Echo Cove launch ramp facility caretaker on the agenda. Stone says they have a person living out there that watches the facility to deter vandalism and other problems.
Another item before the board deals with the Harris Harbor reconstruction. Members will approve a schedule for bids for that work.
The board will also consider whether to authorize a subcommittee to negotiate the purchase of DeHart's marina. The proposed sale has been in the preliminary, exploratory stages for months now.
The Docks and Harbors Board meets tonight at 7 in the Assembly Chambers.
Priorities for Juneau Airport terminal work focus of Friday meeting
The Airport Terminal Project Committee meets Friday afternoon to consider a list of recommended improvements compiled by the consultant, Jensen, Yorba Lott, and the sub consultants.
Airport Business Manager Patty deLaBruere says the panel will put together a prioritized list based on the Terminal Deficiency Report prepared by the consultants.
She says those range from terminal expansion for passenger queuing, to roof repairs, parking facilities, and way finding signs.
The report lists about 18 items that will be considered for prioritization.
When asked if a goal's been established for beginning work, deLaBruere says somewhere around 2008 is the goal for starting some of the projects.
But, she adds, that depends how fast they can move on prioritizing the work and design and the availability of funding.
The meeting begins at 1:30 Friday afternoon in the airport's Aurora Room.
deLaBruere says the public is welcome to attend and listen to the committee discussions.
Freighter grounding subject
of criminal investigation, according to report
A Seattle newspaper, the Post -Intelligencer, reports today that a criminal
probe into the grounding of a freighter in the Aleutian Islands has begun in
Anchorage.
The probe was confirmed by an F-B-I agent who did not want to discuss
details.
Meanwhile, work is continuing to off load oil in the stern section of the
vessel.
We received an update this afternoon from Coast Guard Petty Officer Tom
MacKenzie at the Incident Command Office.
He says 13,390 gallons have been unloaded from the stern section so far.
That amount includes 10,296 of bunker fuel. The balance is diesel fuel.
He says that work is going to take quite some time since the forward section
is underwater.
The salvager is trying to determine exactly how much oil and diesel remains
on board.
The unified command has signed off on the salvager's winter operations plan.
MacKenzie says the plan outlines actions to be taken during the operational
period between now and mid-April.
He says it refers to an increased operational effort that will begin in the
Spring based on longer day light hours and better weather conditions.
Crews are working to clean-up oil on several beaches, but MacKenzie says
weather has kept them out of an area in Skan Bay.
The 738-foot Selendang Ayu had an estimated 424,000 gallons of intermediate
fuel oil and 18,000 gallons of diesel on board when it grounded off Unalaska
Island on December 8th.
The freighter broke in half several days later.
Nature Conservancy gets off to good Alaska start
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The environmental group Nature Conservancy is off to a good start in the state with a big purchase in Southeast Alaska.
The group says they have met their five-year goal of raising ten
million dollars, and also has leveraged more than eight million dollars in additional funding from federal and state agencies.
ConocoPhillips launched the drive with a one
million dollar grant in 2000.
The campaign has allowed the Nature Conservancy to purchase or otherwise protect 63-hundred acres. The largest buy was a 4-thousand-acre waterfront parcel in Gustavus in Southeast Alaska at the entrance to Glacier Bay National Park.
The group bought the land from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority for three
million dollars in November.
Woman in Anchorage sets herself on fire off Seward Highway
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Anchorage police say a 49-year-old Anchorage woman set herself on fire yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon off the Seward Highway in an apparent suicide attempt.
Police say Catharina Marciel drove to a pullout just south of McHugh Creek.
She got out of her vehicle, doused a piece of clothing with gasoline, put it over her shoulders, and set it on fire.
Police were called at two-25 p-m by motorists who saw the woman on fire walking near the side of the highway.
Marciel was taken to an Anchorage hospital and suffering from severe burns over much of her body.
Lawsuit filed over excessive force charge
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The parents of a man killed by an Alaska State Trooper are suing the officer, a second trooper and the state, claiming the officers used excessive force.
The lawsuit is second in the death of Casey Porter.
Trooper Arthur Jesse Osborn pepper-sprayed and then shot Porter on January 4th, 2003, during an encounter at a Sterling Highway pullout.
Porter was disabled and used a cane to operate the clutch of his car.
Osborn claims that after he pepper sprayed Porter, the man moved his car toward trooper Joseph Whitom and Osborn feared Porter would run the other trooper over.
Osborn had been a trooper less than two years at the time of the shooting.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Porter's parents, Kristie and Arthur Porter, says Osborn had a history of violence and excessive force.
The lawsuit says the state failed to take any remedial measures.
The lawsuit seeks damages of more than a hundred-thousand dollars but Kristie Porter says the case is not just about money.
She says she wants a public apology and wants Osborn fired from the troopers.
The first lawsuit in the case was filed in 2003 on behalf of Porter's estate.
ANWR and gas line top
discussion between Governor and Interior Secretary
Governor Frank Murkowski met Tuesday with Interior Secretary Gale Norton in Washington, D. C. to discuss a variety of issues significant to Alaska.
In the meeting, the secretary and the governor agreed to work together and with members of Congress to seek legislation authorizing oil development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The governor also provided an update on Alaska’s progress to date on the development of a natural gas pipeline.
ConocoPhillips drops out of ANWR lobbying group
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The largest oil company operating on Alaska's North Slope has dropped out of the lobbying group Arctic Power.
The Anchorage-based group's sole purpose is to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips dropped its membership in Arctic Power in 2004. A company spokeswoman in Anchorage says for several years the company has been focusing elsewhere, including the natural gas pipeline from the North Slope.
B-P -- the second largest company on the North Slope -- dropped out of Arctic Power in 2002. A spokesman for B-P says it was purely a business decision. He says B-P is looking to get more oil out of existing fields.
Kevin Hand, Arctic Power's executive director, says the lobbying group has the support of more than 400 members. He says many of them are Alaskans who support drilling in ANWR.
ACS set to sale stock
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Anchorage-based Alaska Communications Systems says it will sell 75
million dollars of new stock to public investors.
The company says the sale is part of a broader strategy to whittle down 533
million dollars in debt.
A-C-S says it expects to complete the stock sale and refinance a significant portion of its remaining debt by the end of this month.
The company last month filed paperwork with federal securities regulators for the sale of up to 15 million new shares.
The company did not specify how many shares it intends to sell. It did say it plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt.
Agrium confirms Nikiski fertilizer plant will close
KENAI (AP) - An official for Agrium confirms that the company will close its Nikiski fertilizer plant on November 1st.
Lisa Parker told the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce luncheon that the plant will close despite the best efforts of corporate officials to find a way to avoid it.
The closure will mean the loss of 230 full-time, high-paying jobs, and a substantial reduction in property tax revenue to municipalities.
Agrium bought the plant from Unocal in 2000.
Parker says securing a viable, low-cost gas supply proved too high a hurdle for the company.
Corrections officials resigns for Iraq job
JUNEAU (AP) - A Department of Corrections deputy commissioner is resigning to take a job in Iraq.
Don Stolworthy says he will work as a warden for the U-S Department of Justice.
Stolworthy's resignation takes effect Tuesday. He is based in Anchorage.
He says his new job will be helping to train Iraqi corrections officials. He will be stationed in Baghdad on a one-year assignment.
Stolworthy began working for the state Corrections Department in March 1999 as a probation and parole officer.
He previously he worked in the Legislature and as a special assistant for Governor Walter Hickel.
Anchorage florist headed to Washington for inauguration
ANCHORAGE (AP) - An Anchorage florist is headed to Washington D-C for the presidential inauguration.
Florist Carol Trout of Uptown Blossoms will be part of a volunteer team to transform ballrooms and dining rooms for this month's inauguration.
Ardith Beveridge -- a regular guest on national home and garden television shows -- recommended Trout for the assignment.
Beveridge met Trout when she came to Alaska to teach, and Trout told her she'd love to help with an inauguration some day.
Trout opened Uptown Blossoms in 1987. She says she's thrilled to be selected to help out with the inaugural celebrations.
Copyright ©2005 Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
|
