We build |
Alaska News | Weather | Sports | Poll | Forum | Editorial
Cartoons | Comics | Strange | Classifieds | Home |
We build |
Session gets underway
Chambers convene in Juneau
The Second Session of the 21st Alaska Legislature is underway. The State Senate convened at the Capitol Building (right) a few minutes after 11:00 this morning. The House went in shortly after 1:00pm. The Governor and legislative leaders agree that budget matters will dominate this year's deliberations.
The Senate took up a couple of items of business during today's short session. One rescinded action taken at the end of last year's session adopting a conference committee report on Senate Bill 101 which deals with the definition of a disaster. Lawmakers want to rewrite the measure because an oversight would have required a special session whenever the governor declared a disaster. Another conference committee was appointed to meet with House conferees to fix the problem.
Senators okayed the reappointment of Shirley McCoy of Juneau to serve a full term as a public member on the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics during today's floor session. Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Matthews announced the reappointment in a letter to lawmakers. The Senate vote was unanimous.
Native rights activists Desa Jacobssen says she won't eat again until Native Alaskans in Juneau and Ketchikan regain subsistence hunting and fishing rights. Jacobssen (at left, in red jacket, during subsistencefishing protest last year) says 43,000 Native Alaskans are denied subsistence rights because they live in urban areas. That includes thousands in Juneau and Ketchikan, and Jacobssen says food will not touch her lips until state lawmakers and a federal subsistence board change the rules for fishing and hunting. Jacobssen says the rules deny Native Alaskans who live in cities the right to pass on traditions to their children and the result is systematic destruction of their culture. Her comments came before she and other demonstrators unfurled a fishing net on the Capitol steps. Demonstrators are again calling for a statewide vote to change the Alaska Constitution to allow a subsistence preference. Protesters also are calling for tribal self-governance and funding for rural areas.
Former Mayor Jamie Parsons, who's heading up the Mayor's Fiscal Task Force in an attempt to come up with suggestions to bridge the city's fiscal gap, was a guest on KINY's Capital Chat this morning. Hesays recommending budget cuts is not part of the panel's charge. Parsons says that's a political decision that will rest with the Assembly, although he says they may make some suggestions on programs. He says the panel is still in the information gathering stage since it wants to ensure it's able to back up any recommendations it makes eventually. But at this point, Parsons says he's not sure what the task force will recommend. He says there aren't any easy solutions. The fiscal gap is estimated at between $3-million and $4-million at this time. The task force is looking for suggestions on how to bridge the gap. The panel meets every Wednesday at 5:00pm in the Assembly Chambers. Parsons also invites residents to call him at 789-9201 with suggestions.
The US Supreme Court today rejected the appeal of a former White Pass and Yukon Railroad official convicted for his role in a 1994 oil spill that contaminated a river near Skagway. The court turned away Edward Hanousek Junior's argument that his criminal conviction under the Clean Water Act unfairly was based on a simple accident that someone else caused.
The work of the Legislature's Privatization Commission is being panned by one of its members. Don Valesko, the Business Manager of Public Employees Local 71, believes if the commission's
recommendations are accepted that they will end up costing the state more while providing less quality service. He called it a flawed process wrought with conflict of interest. Valesko claims the process and end product were a dismal failure.
The Assembly Planning and Policy Committee takes up a number of tourism issuesduring a meeting this evening. One involves the Tourism Advisory Committee. Committee Chair Kathleen Morse requested a review of the resolution establishing the committee during last week's meeting. She also wants to discuss additional staff support. Continuation of the Tourism Hot Line, voluntary compliance and research issues related to the tourism industry are also on the agenda. The meeting begins at 5:00pm in the Assembly Chambers at City Hall.
A stolen 1995 Mustang was recovered and the driver arrested Sunday morning. The car was taken from the Glacier View Trailer Park. A short time after the call came in at 3:30am, the vehicle was found being operated in an erratic manner on Back Loop Road near Montana Creek, according to Police. Twenty-eight year old John Foster was arrested on charges of vehicle theft, driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to testing, operating with a revoked license and resisting arrest. Foster was lodged at the Lemon Creek Correctional facility on no bail. The vehicle was recovered undamaged.
A cab driver had trouble collecting his fare Saturday night from a customer who offered an unusual form of payment. The Capital Cab driver came to the police station to report that a man refused to pay the fare of $17.66. The cabbie told police that Joseph Johnson, Junior, attempted to pay the fare with a small amount of marijuana. He was placed under citizen's arrest, cited for theft of services and and misconduct involving a controlled substance, and released. Police says the cabbie's main complaint was the man's failure to pay the fare, and just mentioned in passing that he did try to pay it with the marijuana.(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
Photographers/Public Information Officers:
KINY is actively soliciting photos of timely local news events. Please email us for details.
