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Committee recommends mandatory garbage collection
Bear-proof containers, and "Bear Fair" also suggested
Mandatory garbage pickup throughout the City and Borough of Juneau is one of the recommendations the Mayor's Ad Hoc Bear Committee will forward to the Assembly. The panel voted on various recommendations during its meeting last evening. Committee Chair Mark Farmer says they're also suggesting that the Assembly rewrite Title 36 dealing with garbage and bear resistant enclosures. In that regard, the panel is suggesting that the Chief of Police be charged with coming up and enforcing regulations so the department has the flexibility to respond to specific situations. Other recommendations include banning ground level bird feeders, with the exception of humming bird feeders, between April 1 and November 1; rewriting land use codes so proper garbage disposal is accommodated in future housing developments; and replacing CBJ garbage cans downtown with bear-proof containers. An educational campaign is also suggested by the panel. Farmer says part of the campaign would be a Bear Awareness Week held prior to the bears coming out of their dens in the Spring which culminates in a Bear Fair. Prior to going to the Assembly, the recommendations will be presented at a series of public hearings. The hearings will be held later this month, according to Farmer, who says exact days and locations are pending.
The Forest Service wants to construct two buildings to house seasonal crew members near the National Weather Service Office off of Back Loop Road. Ron Marvin of the Juneau Ranger District says the object is save the approximately $100,000 they spend to house seasonal crew each year which numbers between 50 to 70. Each structure would accommodate 22 workers. Marvin says the agency has about $800,000 for the project now. He says that won't be enough to complete the work. The plan is to start construction in 2003 or 2004 with completion dependent on future funding. Public comment is already in, and some complain about cutting out local landlords. Marvin suggests that public comment be in to him within the next couple of weeks.
The Board of Directors of the Juneau-based Territorial Sportsmen has gone on record on the proposal to transfer 1,500 acres surrounding the Point Retreat Lighthouse to the Alaska Lighthouse Association.Board member Ron Somerville (left) says letters were sent to Alaska's Congressional delegation, including Senator Ted Stevens who proposed the transfer. He says the organization supports the transfer of 10 to 15 acres to the Association which they believe should be adequate, but not the entire amount. He says they would rather see it transferred to the Forest Service. He says the area is hunted fairly heavily and is one of the prime recreational areas near Juneau. For that reason, Somerville says they would hate to see so much go into private ownership. Stevens initially included the provision in an appropriations measure, but later withdrew it. In another letter to the delegation, the organization is calling for support of Gail Norton to become the Secretary of Interior.
Contract talks between the Juneau School District and its teachers are scheduled to begin soon. The current deal expires after this year. Superintendent Gary Bader says teachers haven't had a per diem increase since 1994. He says additional funding from the state is needed. Bader explains that the per pupil funding for students in Juneau has only increased about 6 percent in the last 11 years. As a result, he says Juneau is losing teachers to other districts. In the meantime, the district is close to a new contract agreement with administrators, according to Bader. A new contract was negotiated recently with classified workers.
Governor Knowles introduced legislation today that would allow expanded Medicaid coverage for women with breast and cervical cancer. He said it would permit Alaska to take advantage of recent action by Congress to extend Medicaid coverage for treatment of women who have earned too much for regular Medicaid, but not enough to afford their own health insurance. One woman fighting the disease with no insurance or Medicaid coverage is Kate Coleman of Juneau. She joined the Governor at today's press conference. Knowles said the proposal hopefully comes at an opportune time for Coleman. He said as the administration goes through the details of resulting regulations they will ensure that she and other Alaskans in similar circumstances are covered. Knowles said the new program could help up to 70 women in Alaska each year at a cost to the state of approximately $175,000 annually.
Pioneer Alaska banker Elmer Rasmuson (right) has left more than $19-million to the University of Alaska Foundation in his will. Rasmuson, who headed National Bank of Alaska before it was sold to Wells Fargo, gave the foundation 400,000 shares of Wells Fargo stock. Uses for the money were spelled out by Rasmuson, who served on the university's board of regents for nearly two decades and led the governing board for 13 of those years. The Rasmuson Library on the Fairbanks campus will get $5-million for buying and taking care of rare books and periodicals. $5-million goes to the expansion of the UAF museum. $4-million will be used for scientific fellowships at the Rasmuson Fisheries Research Institute. And $5-million will endow economic chairs at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Rasmuson also gave his support to Anchorage's other institution of higher learning. He left 100,000 shares of Wells Fargo stock to Alaska Pacific University. Rasmuson died last month at age 91. He left all of his approximately $400-million estate to charity. That makes him the most giving philanthropist in modern Alaska.
Former House Speaker Gail Phillips is recovering from back surgery at Anchorage's Providence Hospital. That was made known by Homer Representative Drew Scalze on the floor of the State House today. Scalze said it was a very serious operation, but that Phillips is recovering very well. An announcement was anticipated by Phillips this month on her plans to run for Governor next year. It's not known what the status of those plans are at this report.
A theft reported last November 15th is the focus of Juneau Crime Line this week. The crimeoccurred at a State agency office. Stolen was a silver Sony Mavica model digital camera. The camera is valued at approximately $500. The theft is believed to have occurred between October 31st and November 8th. Individuals with any information relating to the theft or any other crime are encouraged to contact Juneau Police or call Crime Line immediately. The Crime Line number is 586-4243. Callers may remain anonymous and still be eligible for a cash reward.
The Coast Guard is gearing up for the Bering Sea crab season. The fishery opens on Monday. More than 200 vessels are expected to participate. Crab fishing in the Bering Sea is one of the nation's most dangerous occupations. During the 1990s, 64 workers died in the fishery and 29 vessels were lost.
A group of aquatic farm applicants has filed a lawsuit against the state charging that the Department of Fish and Game changed its policies preventing them from obtaining permits. The plaintiffs say the agency is keeping them from operating geoduck clam farms in Southeast Alaska.
The State of Alaska's Web master, Andy Kline, was a guest on KINY's Capital Chat this morning. He said the mission of the state website is to make state government information more accessible to citizens. But he added that they still have a long way to go. Kline said a big part of that is finding an effective search engine for the entire site.What makes that difficult, he said, is that there isn't a centralized agency that oversees and dictates how local area networks are operated. Another challenge facing the state is dealing with the privacy concerns of citizens who use the website, especially if becomes and Internet portal. Under that scenario, users would enter the site to find the types of information they have asked for on previous visits, much like Yahoo, or MSN. The problem for state government, Kline (right) explains, is that portal sites check the activities and build a profile of all users -- and many may not like that kind of "Big Brother" activity. He called it a very complex and interesting issue. When asked about a potential name for the portal, Kline suggested "My Alaska." Visit the state's current website here.
The Tanana Chiefs Conference plans to open a residential Peace Corps-type program in Nenana. The new program is called Tribal Civilian Community Corps. It was formed by a $1.5-million grant from the Corporation for National Service.
The Environmental Protection Agency says Fort Wainwright isn't doing a good job handling dangerous PCBs, despite previous inspections and enforcement actions. The EPA list 19 violations by the fort. Among them, EPA says Fort Wainwright didn't provide adequate tracking for a PCB-laden transformer that used to sit on a playground.
Iditarod race organizers are fretting because it's been too warm and not enough snow has fallen. The Anchorage area normally has more than three feet of snow by this time of year and serious sub-freezing temperatures, but not this season. Less than two feet of snow has fallen and a lot of that has melted, thanks to the warmest winter on record. The biggest impact could be on rookie sled teams that have to complete at least 500 miles of qualifying races just to get into the Iditarod. Race manager Jack Niggemyer calls the weather situation "weird." The 1,049 mile race from Anchorage to Nome is slated to start March third.
The first snow advisory of the winter season for Juneau has been issued by the National Weather Service. Forecaster Don Drew says a frontal system in the central Gulf of Alaska is expected to dump 3 to 5 inches by nightfall. He says up to 2 more inches are possible tonight.
Ice Alaska, the folks who put on Fairbanks' yearly ice sculpture competition, is now planning to take over the Fairbanks Winter Carnival as well. Dick Brickley, chairman of Ice Alaska, says the plan is to make the carnival a bigger draw among tourists.
The Wasilla Warriors were to much for Juneau again during high school basketball action last night. The Crimson Bears lost their opening game in the Alaska Prep Shootout in Anchorage to the Warriors by a score of 58 to 52. The Bears also lost to the Warriors Wednesday night. The Bears will play the loser of the Diamond - Skyview game. That contest airs at 4:45pm on KINY. Listen live here.(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
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