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Gas pipeline tops Knowles speech
Local delegation reacts to governor's remarks
Governor Tony Knowles (left) wants the Legislature to jump-start a natural gas line project, pump more money into education and boost the minimum wage. Knowles outlined his priorities in last night's State of the State speech. Juneau Valley Representative Bill Hudson wishes that Governor Knowles would have better articulated his proposals for crafting a long range fiscal plan. Hudson has introduced House Bill 35 which mimics legislation he sponsored last year. It provides a portion of Permanent Fund income for legislative appropriation following the earmarking of funds for dividends and inflation-proofing. Juneau Downtown Representative Beth Kerttula, who sits on the House Resources Committee, is interested in the work ahead on facilitating construction of the gas pipeline and what it could mean for local communities. She says her aim will be to ensure that Alaskans benefit from the project. Juneau Senator Kim Elton said there were specific acts of bravery on the part of the Governor for not avoiding the hard discussion on how the state secures its fiscal future. Read entire text of Knowles speech here. Watch speech in RealVideo here.
Minority Democrats in the Legislature outlined their goals during a press conference this morning. They include strengthening education, public safety and health, and economic development. On that note there's support for the construction of a gas line, but not at any cost, according to Senate President Johnny Ellis. House Finance member Representative John Davies said there was no need to tax concessions to help promote the line's construction. On another subject, Davies doesn't expect a long range fiscal plan to be forged until next year, if at all. He envisions taking proposals to public hearings before any plan is finalized. Davies says the minority supports the Governor's budget proposals. He says the Governor's proposed increases are necessary if the state is to move forward. A public vote on a constitutional amendment granting a rural subsistence preference remains a minority goal, but Rampart Senator Georgianna Lincoln doesn't believe the votes are there this year. The minority supports the Governor's proposal to delay the effective date of the high school graduation exam, according to Anchorage Senator Bettye Davis. Kotzebue Representative Reggie Joule suggested phasing in sections of the exam as students become prepared.
People convicted of drunken driving couldn't legally drink for at least a year if a newly introduced bill makes it through the Alaska Legislature. The measure filed yesterday by Representative Joe Green joins several other bills aimed at getting tougher on drunken driving.
The Assembly Finance Committee considered major sources of revenue and expenditures in its firstmeeting of the new year last night. The city is starting this year's budget cycle with a surplus of about $761,000. Committee Chair Cathy Munoz says the overall budget is looking good for the coming year with some anticipated one-time sources of revenue. Those include the $765,000 from the National Forest Timber Receipts, about $669,000 from the federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, and additional sales taxes amounting to about $300,000. But there are also some unexpected expenditures. Munoz says they include wage increases and substantial heath care increases for a total of about $1.174-million.
The Assembly Finance Committee approved funding for three projects from the Better Capital City Fund during its meeting last night. Partial funding of the legislative Gavel to Gavel coverage amounts to $215,000. The locally produced Capital Focus Television program also received financial support. There's $28,000 to promote Alaska Airlines' Constituent Airfare Program.
Local property owners could get a tax break under bills prompted by last year's failed property taxpayer revolt. Bills filed by Republican Senator Gene Therriault (left) of North Pole and Democratic Representative John Davies of Fairbanks would allow local governments to increase the household property tax exemption from $10,000 to $50,000. Under the current exemption, $10,000 isshaved off the tax assessments of homeowners living in the Fairbanks North Star Borough and a handful of other Alaska municipalities that choose to do so. So if a Fairbanks family lives in a house assessed at $150,000 it can pay borough taxes as though the house was worth $140,000. Some local officials have said they want to consider alternative revenue sources in the wake of the debate over last year's failed statewide initiative to limit local property taxes to 1 percent of a home's assessed value.
The state has unveiled a new 5 year lease sale schedule through the year 2005. Bob King of the Governor's office says the 16 areawide sales includes five in Cook Inlet, on the North Slope and the Beaufort Sea. The other is in the Foothills area of the North Slope. King says the state has now settled down to a schedule that provides the predictability desired by the industry after facing uncertainties surrounding of the BP-Arco merger the last couple of years.
Donald Rumsfeld pledged today that as Secretary of Defense he would press for a missile defense system. Rumsfeld (right) made his comments at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing. Pentagon officials have proposed locating the missile defense system in Alaska.
Another Alaska parent has been prosecuted for failure to make child support payments. Thirty-nine-year-old John M. Clark of Craig was sentenced this week to 5 years probation and ordered to begin making payments on his $70,000 child support debt.
Seven Alaska Native villages will be getting a total of more than half a million dollars from the Environmental Protection Agency for continuing work on environmental programs. The grants are being made under the Indian Environment General Assistance Program. Among the grants is $52,000 for Wrangell Natives.
Members of the Mendenhall Watershed Partnership were guests on KINY'sCapital Chat this morning. The citizen's based group formed over the last decade to work for the preservation of Mendenhall Valley streams impacted by development. Members David Lendrum (right in photo) and Chair Dave Hanna (left in photo) represented the group on the program. Lindrum says the organization became a national model after its formation. And Hanna says the organization has received national awards for some of its work. The group meets next Tuesday evening at 6:30 in the library at Floyd Dryden Middle School. Read more about the Mendenhall Watershed Partnership here.
The state's nutrition program for low income residents has won special recognition from the federal government. The Supplemental Food and Nutrition Education Program for Women Infants and Children won the Department of Agriculture's Pyramid of Excellence Award. Alaska was the only state to win the award.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is warning of paralytic shellfish poisoning after a Kodiak woman became ill yesterday from eating clams harvested Monday. DEC officials say the woman ate a clam she had harvested near the cannery at Larsen Bay on the west side of Kodiak. She was treated at a Kodiak hospital.
A veteran of the mental health treatment community is the state's new director of the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. Governor Knowles appointed 50-year-old Walter Majoros to the job yesterday. Since 1996 Majoros has been executive director of the Alaska Mental Health Board.
Two Juneau residents were among the five Alaskans who were recognized by Governor Knowles during his State of the State Address this evening. One was retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Pat Carothers (left in photo), who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam was America's most recognized Marine at the time of his retirement. He chairs the Alaska Veterans Advisory Council. The other Juneau resident is Kanani Pavitt (right in photo). She attends the University of Alaska Southeast under terms of the Alaska Scholars Program. The program provides free tuition to the top ten percent of high school graduates which Pavitt accomplished at Juneau Douglas High School last year.
Juneau finally witnessed a bit of snow last night. National Weather Service Forecaster Bob Shontz says 1.4 inches was recorded at the airport. He says it appears there will be more white stuff late tonight and more on Friday. The snow shower last night did not produce nearly enough of the white stuff to get Eaglecrest Ski Area open. If the lifts don't run by this Saturday, the ski area will set a new record late opening date.
State Senator Drue Pearce has been named to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. The committee is composed of civilians appointed by the Secretary of Defense to provide recommendations on issues that affect military women.
The Juneau Douglas High School Crimson Bears men's basketball squad lost its road game in Wasilla last night 63 to 45. The Bears will seek revenge against the Warriors today in the Diamond Prep Shootout. Tip off is at 4:45 right here on Hometown Radio KINY.(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
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