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Limited access program announced for sport charter halibut
fishing in Alaska
NOAA Fisheries is crafting a new program okayed by the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council that limits the number of
charter boats in the guided sport halibut fishery in Southeast
Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska.
Sport charter halibut businesses will have to obtain a permit from
NOAA.
Jay
Ginter with the National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Region
says the intended effect is to curtail and then stabilize the
growth of the charter halibut industry.
He says the sense of the council was that there's been relatively
unchecked growth in the charter halibut industry.
He says the council wants to stabilize the growth, and by limiting
the number of charter halibut vessels that are participating, the
conservation management measures are likely to have more effect.
The agency will publicize the 60 day permit application
period which it says is likely to begin in early February.
Charter halibut guides will be required to carry their new permit
on board starting February 1, 2011.
Under the new program, permits will be issued to qualifying
individuals or businesses that documented at least five fishing trips during a
qualifying year, 2004 or 2005, and in 2008.
Newcomers can enter the fishery by acquiring a transferable
permit.
Permits will be issued to community quota groups representing
specific rural communities.
The agency previously reduced the allowed take of halibut to one
per day, per charter angler in Southeast Alaska.
The new limited access program is another step towards controlling
the fishery in those areas, according to an agency release.
The agency says the expected next step under development is to
establish an allocation of halibut between the charter and
commercial fishing sectors.
Coast
Guard rescues family after boat sinks near Auke Bay
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue
helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka rescued a Juneau man and
his two teenage sons after their boat reportedly sank off of
Coghlan Island near Auke Bay Monday about 4 p.m.
Todd Shumway and his two teenage
sons were enroute to their nearby cabin when their boat sank and
they had to swim to nearby Coghlan Island.
They told the rescue crew that
they had overloaded their boat with wood which caused it to take
on water and sink.
The rescue helicopter which was
in the area overseeing a good Samaritan rescue of four adults and
five children who were trapped by high tide on a shoal at Eagle
Beach, 12-miles north of Auke Bay, diverted to Coghlan Island
after the Coast Guard received reports of red flares sighted in
the area.
The helicopter crew arrived at
Coghlan Island at 4:04 p.m.
The helicopter crew transported
the Shumways to Juneau International Airport where they were
assessed by awaiting emergency medical services and released with
no reported health concerns.
Meanwhile, the good Samaritan was
able to safely ferry all nine people from the Shoal to Eagle
Beach.
Juneau's first baby
of New Year reported at Bartlett
It's a boy.
The first baby born in Juneau arrived at 3:30 this morning
(Monday) at Bartlett Regional Hospital.
Charles Patrick Begenyi weighed in at 8 pounds and 5 ounces. He
was 22 inches in length.
His parents are Eileen and Barry Begenyi.
A photo is available on the hospital web site at www.bartletthospital.org
Click
on the "go" button under Bartlett Babies at that point.
Caleb
Sage Ford missed being the New Year baby by less than 90
minutes.
He
was born at the hospital on New Year's Eve at 10:32.
He weighed 6 pounds and one ounce and was 19 inches long.
Caleb's
parents are Jennifer and Simon Ford.
As
one observer pointed out, Caleb may not be the New Year baby, but
he counts as a tax deduction for his parents for all of 2009.
Owner
of disabled tug releases spill estimate
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A tugboat operator says as much as
6,410 gallons of diesel fuel spilled in Alaska's Prince William
Sound when a tugboat ran aground on the same reef as the Exxon
Valdez 20 years ago.
Crowley Marine says the spill estimate from last month's grounding
of the Pathfinder is considered a worst case amount.
Crowley says the estimate is based on an evaluation of the tug's
two damaged fuel tanks, the amount of diesel on board when it ran
aground Dec. 23 and the amount recovered from the two tanks after
it was towed to Valdez.
The estimate was reported Monday to oversight agencies including
the Coast Guard and state Department of Environmental
Conservation.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster remains the United States' worst
oil spill, with nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled.
Iditarod musher makes
large donation to race
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — Four-time champion Jeff King has made a
large donation to increase the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race purse.
King, a 54-year-old musher from Denali Park, is donating $50,000
to the race.
The move comes after a loss of about $1 million in sponsorship
money forced a drastic reduction in this year's purse.
Lee Larsen, president of the Iditarod Trail Committee Board of
Directors, says he hopes King's example will encourage others to
contribute what they can to restore the purse.
Race organizers announced last month that the purse would be cut
by $100,000 to about $525,000 — $400,000 less than it was just
two years ago.
Seventy-five mushers have signed up for the 1,100-mile race from
Anchorage to Nome.
The race begins the first weekend in March.
Air emergency declared for Valley
The City and Borough of Juneau issued another air emergency this
morning (Monday) due to a temperature inversion in the Mendenhall
Valley.
All wood stove burning with the exception of pellet stoves is
prohibited during an air emergency.
An air emergency declared last Thursday morning was lifted
Saturday afternoon.
For an update on the status of this latest emergency call
586-5333.
Change
to JPD operations allows officers to stay on street more
A new service delivery model is being implemented beginning today
(Monday) by the Juneau Police Department.
Lieutenant Troy Wilson says it involves freeing up patrol officers
from investigating longer term cases and turning that work over to
the Investigations Unit.
The lieutenant says the idea is too keep officers on the street
and also get them involved in a more proactive manner to short
circuit crime before it happens.
Man caught with contraband in Juneau prison gets a year in jail
A 22 year old Juneau man was sentenced to one year in jail last
week for bringing marijuana and prescription medicines in to the
Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
The plea deal called for Nicholas A. DeTemple to plead guilty to
one count of promoting contraband in the second degree.
Two other charges of misconduct involving a controlled substance
in the 4th and 6th degrees were dismissed as part of the plea
agreement.
The charges stemmed from an investigation last July when he was
caught by correctional officers with the substances inside the
prison.
Trial of accused killer of Anchorage nurse delayed
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge has postponed the
capital murder trial against an Anchorage man accused in the 2007
murder of a neighbor until summer.
The judge says trial of the 29-year-old Joshua Wade will give
investigators time to complete DNA evidence.
Wade is accused of killing nurse practitioner Mindy Schloss.
Airport and harbor grant
money before Assembly for approval
The Assembly tonight (Monday) is expected to approve an ordinance
appropriating a Department of Transportation grant of nearly
$410,000 for the Juneau airport runway safety area and aircraft
apron.
This grant is half of the required percent match for a Federal
Aviation Administration grant.
The remaining matching funds will be appropriated through the
Passenger Facility Charge Program.
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The Assembly will take up an ordnance appropriating a $150,000
grant from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game into the Statter
Harbor Loading Facility CIP.
The grant would allow CBJ to undertake planning and environmental
work for the new launch ramp at Statter Harbor.
Work will include habitat studies of inner Auke Bay and the
development of tidelands fill minimization alternatives.
The original grant for the project was $250,000.
If the Assembly approves the measure it would increase the total
grant to $400,000.
The grant is being amended so that CBJ can do additional work to
complete an environmental assessment on the project in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act, as recommended by the U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Department of Fish and
Game.
Funding for the grant is being provided by the Federal Aid in
Sportfish Restoration Act and the State of Alaska.
Personnel
Board decision on union representation for airport workers before
the Assembly
The Assembly will decide whether tonight to hear an appeal of
a CBJ Personnel Board decision.
In November, the board denied and dismissed a petition to create a
bargaining unit filed by the International Union of Operating
Engineers Local 302 on behalf of the Juneau International Airport
Field Maintenance Employees.
Assembly
to take transportation resolution
The Assembly tonight (Monday) will consider a resolution
expressing its support for the Juneau Coordinated Transportation
Coalition's 2009 addendum to the 2008 Transit Development Plan.
It's to be submitted to the state Department of Transportation to
qualify for federal funding to help pay for transporting seniors,
and people with disabilities and from low-income households
The addendum provides information for three items that the DOT
identified as missing from the original plan under new federal
requirements.
They include gaps in the services list; a vehicle inventory: and
an assessment of a needs "Client Screening Form".
PFD on-line application glitches resolved
The Alaska Permanent Fund dividend division averaged about 1,000
online applications per hour after the 2010 filing period began
12:01 a.m. Friday morning.
However, there was one glitch reported with the charitable
contributions program "Pick Click Give".
PFD Operations Manager Dan DeBartolo says it was a computer
interface issue between the state and the charitable contributions
program.
He says, due to the problem, people were not able to assign a
portion of their divided to their favorite charity.
He says due to the problem, which has since been resolved, people
were not able to assign a portion of their dividend to their
favorite charity.
The search was taking so long that the Pick Click Give
process would shut down and the dividend would be submitted
without allowing applicants a chance to state their intention.
DeBartolo says they are exploring the options available for those
who have already submitted an application.
Some problems involving the e-signature feature have also been
resolved, according to DeBartolo.
The 2010 PFD application period runs through
March 31.
Bill would test welfare recipients for drugs
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — A Wasilla legislator is proposing
legislation that would allow the Department of Health and Social
Services to test recipients of public assistance for drug use.
House Republican Wes Keller says the agency could withhold public
assistance if there's a positive result, but the measure is
intended to address substance abuse problems more that it is to
penalize anyone.
Caseworkers, for example, might direct the person with the
positive test toward a treatment program.
Keller told the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman newspaper that he has
gotten positive feedback on his idea, estimating that more than 90
percent of the e-mail responses have been supportive.
The 2010 session starts Jan 19.
U.S Olympic staffers getting swine flu vaccines
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — More than a hundred employees of
the U.S. Olympic Committee are getting swine flu vaccines before
they head to Canada for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The chief medical officer for the U.S. Olympic Team will be on
hand Tuesday as the employees get vaccines for the swine flu
virus. A spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee says that
athletes competing next month have already been offered swine flu
vaccines.
But spokesman Bob Condron says employees headed to the Games also
need vaccines. He says, "The idea is that we don't get the
athletes sick."
A vaccine clinic is also planned Tuesday at the 2010 U.S. Cross
Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
Legislators costing state
thousands in travel
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska legislators last year cost the
state thousands of dollars in travel expenses.
The Anchorage Daily News says legislators took trips to South
Africa, Saudi Arabia, England, China, Germany, Korea, France and
Russia.
Organizations paid for some of the trips, but the state picked up
the tab for others.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Con Bunde of Anchorage says the
year was unusually full of overseas trips, but Republican Senate
President Gary Stevens of Kodiak says the amount of travel is not
out of line.
Legislators say the travel is valuable for the state and allows
lawmakers to better serve constituents.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Alaska one of the best performing on bankruptcy list for 2009
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — U.S. consumers and businesses are filing
for bankruptcy at a pace that made 2009 the seventh-worst year on
record, with more than 1.4 million petitions submitted.
While every state saw a rise in bankruptcies, Alaska, Nebraska and
North Dakota performed best.
Alaska bankruptcies were up 12 percent, while Arizona had the
fastest increase at 77 percent.
Man draws over 3 decades in jail on rape conviction
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage man convicted of raping
his mother's elderly friend has been sentenced to 32 years in
prison.
Prosecutors say 22-year-old Romeo Iyapana choked the man and
sexually assaulted him in September 2007.
Alaska
trying to comply with sex offender law
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Like all but one other state, Alaska
has not yet complied with a 3-year-old federal sex offender
registration law. The extended deadline is July.
KTUU reports Alaska is having trouble complying with the law known
as SORNA because the state constitution bars retroactive laws, and
SORNA would apply to offenders who were convicted before the law
was enacted.
Alaska also uses a two-tier system while SORNA uses a three-tier
classification system.
Ohio is the only state to meet the federal requirements, so far.
(KTUU-TV)
Alaska doesn't add
to law enforcement fatality list in 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — No Alaska law enforcement officers were
killed in the line of duty last year.
Nationwide, 125 law enforcement officers were killed while on the
job, the lowest number of annual police fatalities since 1959.
Another vote on booze in
Bethel
BETHEL, Alaska (AP) — Three months after voters decided to lift
a decades-old ban on liquor sales, Bethel is preparing to hold
another booze vote on Jan. 19. Then yet another alcohol election
is planned for later in the year.
The January vote -- advisory only -- is aimed at finding out what
people really wanted when they ended the liquor prohibition in the
southwest Alaska city in October. The City Council plans to use
the vote to help it decide whether to oppose liquor license
applications.
Meanwhile, a group opposing local liquor sales altogether has
successfully petitioned for a third election, likely to be held in
the spring. That vote would ask residents to again outlaw the sale
of alcohol.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Anchorage motel would house alcoholics
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage motel could become a home
for chronic street alcoholics.
The Anchorage division of RuralCap is negotiating to buy a Red
Roof Inn at Fifth Avenue and Karluk Street.
The agency is seeking a state grant through the Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation.
The Anchorage Daily News reports the Anchorage home would follow a
Seattle housing program that does not require residents to stop
drinking.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Fairbanks
emissions program ends after 25 years
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Fairbanks' vehicle emissions program
has ended after 25 years.
That means that vehicles in the Fairbanks North Star Borough no
longer have to undergo inspections and emissions tests.
The borough adopted the program in 1985 as part of the
municipality's effort to curb carbon monoxide emissions. However,
carbon monoxide levels in Fairbanks have been in compliance with
federal standards since 2000.
Chuck Machetta, chairman of the I/M and Air Pollution Control
Commission, says it was always the plan to end the program once
carbon monoxide levels improved.
The program ended Dec. 31.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
2010 predicted to have
minimal aurora events
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — 2010 will probably disappoint aurora
watchers.
The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
predicts that aurora activity will be minimal, and much the same
as it has been for more than a year.
The Northern Lights occur when solar energy particles collide with
the Earth's magnetic field.
Aurora forecaster Charles Deehr says this is the least active
period ever experienced. The slowdown in aurora activity is
attributed to slow sun spot activity.
The forecast site is available at HYPERLINK http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
6
dogs found dead in city-run shelter
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A veterinarian who examined six dogs
that died at the Dillingham dog shelter says they were starved and
dehydrated.
The city has suspended the animal control officer charged with
caring for the animals.
The six dogs were the entire dog population of the shelter. They
were found dead Dec. 8 after police received a tip.
An employee had noticed no dog tracks leading to and from the
city's animal shelter, and wondered what had happened to the
animals inside.
The city has closed the shelter. Community Service Officer Travis
Barnett, who was in charge of caring for the animals, has been
suspended without pay.
Police also have begun a criminal investigation.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Dog with shotgun wounds should survive
KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Twin Cities Veterinary Clinic in Kenai
has been treating one tough dog.
Vets tell the Peninsula Clarion that the large dog was found this
week tied to a tree and shot at least twice with a small-gauge
shotgun. The animal had more than 50 pellet wounds
on its neck and head.
Veterinarians suspect that whoever shot the female dog likely
thought it she was killed and left her there. Tabitha Perkovich
says the animal apparently survived by eating snow for up to three
days until it was found.
Perkovich says the dog is in stable condition, did not require
major surgery and likely will recover. It's staying with the
family that found her.
(Peninsula Clarion)
Weather
Service issues stats for December weather in Capital City
It was a warm start and cold finish for a dry December in Juneau.
Meteorologist Kimberly Vaughn in the Juneau Forecast Office says
the month saw below normal precipitation.
Total liquid precipitation was 3.95 inches which was about one and
a half inches below normal.
The rainiest day was on the second with point 98 inches.
The total snowfall in December amounted to 9.1 inches, over 11 and
a half inches below normal.
The forecaster says there were two snow events. The first on the
16th produced three inches. The second and highest snow fall of
the month saw 3.9 inches on the 22nd.
The average monthly temperature was 27.9 degrees, one degree below
normal.
The warmest day of the month was the 17th when it reached 43
degrees. The coldest came on the last day of the year when it
dipped to eight degrees.
The peak wind at the airport was 43 miles per hour on the 17th.
The peak wind at the federal building was 44 miles per hour on the
30th.
The release of weather statistics for 2009 in Juneau is pending.
Christmas Tree recycling
set for this week
Free Christmas Tree recycling starts today (Monday) in Juneau at the
landfill.
Capital Disposal asks that residents remove ornaments, tinsel and
stands.
It's scheduled from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Skate board park
closed for two months
The Pipeline Skate Park at Jackie Renninger Park will be closed
for repair and maintenance beginning today (Monday) and through February
27.
That word coming from the CBJ Parks and Recreation Department.
Professional
fishing guides form association
KENAI, Alaska (AP) — More than 50 professional Kenai River
fishing guides have formed their own association.
The new group, The Upper Kenai River Professional Guide
Association, was formed last month.
Association president Robert Gibson says the purpose of the group
is to correct problems related to guided fishing on the upper
Kenai River, and work to protect one of Alaska's premier rivers.
Gibson says overcrowding on the Upper Kenai is a concern. He says
there are several areas where combat fishing-related problems need
to be addressed, as well as long lines at boats ramps.
Gibson says the association also will be working with law
enforcement to curb illegal activity, such as people guiding their
"friends" and camping without permits.
(Peninsula Clarion)
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