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Home Depot picks out lot in Lemon Creek
area for Juneau store
Home Depot has located a parcel of land on which to build a store in Juneau.
That according to John Williams of Juneau Real Estate, who says the only
thing pending is determining the site's suitability.
Its the Juneau Ready Mix site in the Lemon Creek area off of the Glacier
Highway.
He says Juneau Ready Mix will move to the back part of the lot in order to
make the front part available for the Home Depot store.
He says the company is now in the process of conducting environmental
testing . That process will take two or three months and after that Home
Depot will begin working on building plans.
Williams, who represents the landowner, says he's told the store will be
100,000 square feet in size. He says the company explored a smaller format,
but opted for a standard size store instead.
He says Home Depot likes to open stores in the Spring and figures and hopes
the opening will come in 2005.
A message was left with Home Depot official John Simley at company
headquarters in an effort to confirm their plans.
Home Depot did check out and reject the old K-Mart store as a possible
location last year. Simley told us then it wasn't a question of whether to locate a store here, but rather finding
an appropriate site.
Heavy snow warning in effect for
portions of Panhandle, including Juneau
Lots of snow is in the forecast for tonight. (Wednesday)
A heavy snow warning has been issued for this area, according to
Meteorologist Jim Truitt in the Juneau Forecast Office. He says there will
be about a 12 hour period of time ending before Noon tomorrow where Juneau
should receive 6 to10 inches of snow.
There could be up to a foot in some areas. A heavy snow warning is also in
effect for Hoonah, Angoon and Kake and towns in southern portion of the
Panhandle.
A high wind warning remains in effect for this area today, although the
forecaster says winds are beginning to die down.
Truitt says the Taku wind event brought gusts to 72 miles per hour at the
South Douglas Island site. But he says the Taku wind situation is breaking
down and the warning should be ended by this evening.
Pull tabs on Assembly Finance agenda
The Assembly Finance Committee takes up pull tabs during its meeting this
evening.
Committee Chair Jeannie Johnson says they've invited twelve Juneau pull tab
operators to talk about their finances and operations.
Johnson says the Assembly expects the legislature to again propose
additional taxes on pull tab revenue which could have an effect on the
city's finances.
Johnson says they want to get answers quickly before the legislature takes
up taxes on pull tab taxes.
The Finance Committee meets Wednesday afternoon starting at 5 in the
Assembly Chambers.
Union letter and deferred
maintenance nets Docks and Harbors attention
The Juneau Docks and Harbors Board took action on two items at their meeting
last night.
The panel reviewed a letter submitted by the union that represents docks and
harbors employees, the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, concerning
various personnel issues.
As a result of their review of that letter, the board moved to create a
special three person audit committee chaired by Greg Fisk.
The committee will review and gather specific information related to
perceived problems concerning personnel and purchasing. The panel will
report back to the Board later this month.
The board also took up the Juneau reconfiguration and deferred maintenance
program for the small boat harbors. The seven phase program will spend 9.6
million dollars over three years.
The program will reconfigure moorage in Aurora, Harris, and Statter Harbors
and provide deferred maintenance in Douglas, Statter, Aurora, and Harris
Harbors.
Lena Point Master Plan approved
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee approved a revised Lena Point
Master Plan during its meeting last night.
Parks And Recreation Director Kim Kiefer says the revised plan deletes the
shelter and look out area. She says it focuses instead on trails and parking
and how it works with the NOAA facility once its constructed.
The revised plan represents a combination of ideas put forward by the
Gastineau Rotary Club and the Lena Extended Neighbor Association
Sport fishing guide sentenced in
Juneau court
An out of state fishing guide has plead guilty to three counts of unsworn
falsification of resident sport fishing and hunting licenses.
Gerald J. Shelden, 62, of Maple Valley, Washington, entered his plea in
Juneau District Court Tuesday.
Shelden, who owns a sport fish charter lodge, the Fishmaster Inn, in Elfin
Cove, was a vendor for Alaska Department of Fish and Game licenses. He sold
the falsified licenses to himself, according to State Troopers.
He was sentenced to fines of $20,000, with 2,500 suspended, 360 days of
suspended jail, 5 years
probation, $1000 in restitution for failure to return Fish and Game
licensing vendor revenue, and loss of sport fishing and hunting privileges
for one year.
The case was initiated in August of last by the Alaska Bureau of Wildlife
Enforcement. The agency was notified of a late saltwater, sportfishing and
guide log book. Wilkinson says other things looked suspicious at that time,
so an investigation was launched.
Arctic Rose report due out Thursday
The Coast Guard says it will release the report tomorrow on its
investigation into the sinking of the Arctic Rose.
The report will be released at Coast Guard offices in Seattle and Anchorage.
Fifteen people died when the Seattle fishing boat sank in April of 2001 in
the Bering Sea.
Ketchikan seeks additional
information on Forma Homes proposal
Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly members say they want more information
before deciding whether to provide land and tax incentives for a
California-based manufacturer of pre-formed homes.
Forma Homes wants a price break on property
at Ward Cove plus tax incentives to construct a plant in the community.
Train derailment caused by strong
winds
Strong winds ripped through Southcentral Alaska yesterday, causing the
derailment of an Alaska Railroad fuel train.
The windstorm caused gusts of nearly 70 miles per hour in Anchorage and
about 80 miles per hour in the Mat-Su borough.
Police say there were reports of roof damage in the valley. Anchorage police
say there were no reports of damage in the city.
The fuel train was headed south and had 48 cars filled with fuel. It
derailed at 6-20 p-m as it crossed the Glenn Highway near Palmer. The
derailment caused an hour-long shutdown of the highway.
The number of fire fatalities in Alaska reached an all-time low in 2003.
Fire fatality rate greatly reduced
in 2003
A total of seven people died in fires, the fewest since the state fire
marshal began keeping records in 1961.
Jodie Hettrick, with the fire marshal's office, says the average number of
fire deaths in Alaska has been about 20, though it has been going down. The
previous record low was in 2002, with nine deaths.
Five of the seven fatalities in 2003 were attributed to careless smoking or
improperly discarded cigarettes.
Hettrick says the reduction in fatalities is probably due to better fire
safety education.
Insurance failure hurts state businesses
Alaska's employers are paying for the collapse of a California insurance
company.
Fremont Indemnity Company, which once handled more than a quarter of
workers' compensation business in Alaska, is insolvent.
The company left an estimated 60 million dollars in current and future
outstanding claims in Alaska.
The unpaid claims are being felt by Alaska businesses.
To help pay for those claims, insurance companies can pass on to employers a
new assessment that amounts to 2 dollars per every 100 hundred dollars
businesses spend on workers' compensation premiums.
Methane drilling resolution approved
by Mat Su Assembly
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough's governing body has made public its position
on coal bed methane drilling.
The borough's Assembly last night adopted a resolution. The resolution says
before the drilling begins, the state should test groundwater. And it says
the state should look for spots where the gas seeps from coal seams
naturally. The resolution also says the state needs to adopt new rules
governing coal bed methane drilling.
The resolution also requests that the state develop a partnership with the
Mat-Su and Kenai Peninsula boroughs governing methane development. And it
asks that Governor Murkowski meet with officials from both boroughs.
The prospect of gas drilling across the Mat-Su has triggered strong
opposition.
Colorado-based Evergreen Resources has acquired the rights to more than
300-thousand acres of state subsurface gas leases.
(Copyright ©2003
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
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