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Tree causes
areawide power outage
A tree falling on an electrical transmission line caused this
afternoon's (Wednesday) areawide power outage.
Alaska, Electric, Light and Power's Gayle Wood says the tree fell on
a transmission line between the Thane Substation and Salmon Creek.
The line is down about one mile North of the Thane Substation.
She says electricity to Juneau is now being supplied by the other
Thane Substation transmission line.
Wood say a crew will be out Thursday to make repairs.
The electricity went out about 2-50 p.m. and was restored to most areas
of town before 4 p.m.
The transmission
line from the Snettisham Hydro plant was not effected.
Morris
Publishing, owner of Juneau Empire, announces Chapter 11
bankruptcy plan
RUSS BYNUM- Associated Press Writer
SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Morris Publishing Group, owner of daily and
nondaily newspapers across the country, including some in Alaska,
said Wednesday it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
within a week.
In Alaska, Morris Publishing owns the Juneau Empire, Kenai Peninsula
Clarion and the
Homer News.
The Augusta, Ga.-based company said in a news release it would
file a "prepackaged" plan, preapproved by a majority of
its creditors, in federal bankruptcy court by Tuesday.
The plan seeks to slash Morris Publishing's debt of $415 million
by nearly 70 percent.
"We're pleased that so many of our noteholders agreed to
support this move to get Morris Publishing on more solid financial
ground," said Sandra Sternberg, a spokeswoman for the
company.
As newspaper profits have dwindled industrywide from the economic
recession, on top of readers lost to online media, Morris
Publishing has been saddled with debt mostly accumulated from its
acquisition of newspapers in the 1990s.
Morris Publishing is a former subsidiary of Morris Communications.
A reorganization a year ago left Morris Communications as an
affiliate of Morris Publishing Group, but no longer its parent
company.
Morris Communications owns six radio stations in Anchorage and the
Alaska Star in Eagle River.
Arrest made in Sitka cold case murder
The woman wanted for the murder of her husband in Sitka in 1988
was arrested today (Wednesday) in Illinois.
The Kendall Country Sheriffs' Office arrested 45 year old Jane
Reth without incident in Oswego, Illinois.
A grand jury in Sitka returned an indictment for her arrest
Friday.
Reth, also known as Jane Limm and Jane Colville, has been charged
with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in
the case of her husband, Scott Coville, whose body has never been
found.
Coville disappeared in April 1988.
The cold case units in the Alaska State Troopers and the
Department of Law have been investigating the 22 year old case for
nearly three years now.
New leads were developed after a tip was received by State
Troopers in the Spring of 2007.
Coville and Reth were married in Sitka in late 1987 and were
living together at the time of his disappearance.
Plans are being made to extradite Reth to Alaska.
Federal judge
says Kott got a fair trial
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge says former Alaska
House Speaker Pete Kott got a fair trial in 2007 on corruption
charges.
U.S. District Judge John Sedwick adds he has no reason to order a
new trial or dismiss the case.
Sedwick ruled Wednesday in response to Kott's latest efforts to
have his conviction tossed.
The judge said he expects Kott to appeal the decision and adds
Kott can remain out of prison until the matter is considered by
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Kott's corruption case arose during maneuverings around oil tax
legislation in 2006.
He was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy, extortion and
bribery and sentenced to six years in federal prison.
Kott went to prison but was released in June when prosecutors
acknowledged they failed to turn over favorable evidence to the
defense — the same issue that led to the collapse of a
corruption case against former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.
---
Information from: Anchorage Daily News
Student athletes testing clean in
drug testing so far
There have been no positive drug tests so far in the school
district's mandatory testing program.
Superintendent Glenn Gelbrich says, as of last Friday, over 145
student athletes have been tested and none have tested positive
for banned substances.
Gelbrich told the school board at last night's (Tuesday) meeting
they plan to start the voluntary student drug testing program in
mid-February.
He says they plan to start the voluntary student drug testing
program in mid-February.
Participating students are issued a card and are eligible for
discounts and other perks from local businesses and regular prize
drawings.
The card has a picture of the student along with an identification number.
Gelbrich says if the student tests positive, the card number is
invalidated until the student has a negative test.
The superintendent says the test results are completely
confidential and the school district will not know the results of
the voluntary tests.
He says only the parents and the student are notified of the
results, regardless of the outcome of the test.
Board President Mark Choate said he's heard anecdotally from a lot
of people that they believe that the entire process has changed
the school culture for the better.
He said everyone that participated and pressed for the program
deserves the credit.
The voluntary drug testing program is up for a final hearing and
action at the board's meeting next month.
Revised - League survey up for
discussion by Assembly panel
The Assembly Finance Committee meeting this evening will include a
discussion of the bi-annual League of Women Voters survey.
Deputy City Manager Kim Kiefer says also on the agenda will be a
financial presentation from the city's auditor and a request from
Sealaska Heritage Institute for Celebration 2010.
In addition, she says time is being devoted to comments from
Assembly members on proposed budget reductions.
The meeting gets underway at 5:30 this evening in Assembly
Chambers at City Hall.
Drug bust
reported in Ketchikan
There was a drug bust in Ketchikan Sunday morning after a state
ferry arrived from Bellingham.
Alaska State Troopers including canine Yukon and officers from the
Ketchikan and Craig Police Departments boarded the ferry
Yukon alerted to the presence of narcotics coming from a vehicle
owned by 49 year old Jeffrey Music of Craig, according to the
Trooper dispatch.
After the vehicle was seized, a search warrant was obtained.
Located inside the tires of an ATV and in a truck tire were
approximately 40 pounds of processed marijuana that was packaged
in 70 gallon size bags.
The shipment of marijuana was bound for Prince of Wales Island.
A second search warrant for Music's residence in Craig resulted in
the seizure of scales, packaging material and other items related
to the distribution of marijuana.
Troopers say the estimated street value of the seized marijuana is
in excess of $600,000.
Music was arrested and jailed at the Ketchikan Correctional Center
on three counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance.
His bail was set at $25,000.
Music is the owner
of Island Ride, a taxicab service in Craig.
Environmental groups sue over Tongass timber sale
MARY PEMBERTON - Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Three environmental groups are trying
to stop a timber sale of old-growth trees in the country's largest
national forest.
The lawsuit filed Monday alleges that the U.S. Forest Service
failed to consider the timber sale's impact on wolves, deer and
salmon in that part of the Tongass National Forest.
The federal agency last year approved the Logjam timber sale on
Prince of Wales Island at 73 million board feet — near the high
end of what was proposed.
Greenpeace, Cascadia Wildlands and the Tongass Conservation
Society want the court to cancel the sale of timber on 3,422
acres. The groups say the area already is heavily logged, and that
wildlife need the old-growth buffers that are left for shelter and
migration.
Nome contributes $50,000 to
Iditarod race
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The city that hosts the finish line for
the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is donating $50,000 to the race.
Nome Mayor Denise Michels (MY'-kels) says the Iditarod is an
important economic engine for her city and generates millions for
other communities.
Iditarod officials announced in December that the race was
experiencing financial woes.
Director Stan Hooley announced a shortfall of nearly $1 million as
sponsors pulled out and video deals collapsed.
The Iditarod begins March 6 with a ceremonial start in Anchorage.
Racing gets under way a day later from Willow and mushers drive
teams 1,000 miles to Nome.
The race commemorates the 1925 serum run, when mushers relayed
diphtheria antitoxin from Nenana to Nome to aid in an epidemic.
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Information from: Anchorage Daily News
Competing gas
line projects to seek customers in 2010
The Alaska natural gas pipeline project backed by North Slope
producers BP and Conoco Phillips plans next summer to seek
customers that would ship gas through the proposed pipe.
The Denali pipeline project's "open season" would start
around July and run for 90 days.
Open seasons are critical tests of a gas pipeline project --
enough customers are needed so that the owners can obtain the
financing needed for construction.
The Denali project involves a roughly 2,000-mile pipeline project
from Prudhoe Bay to Alberta, Canada, where the gas could flow into
existing pipeline networks serving Canada and the Lower 48. The
project could cost tens of billions of dollars.
In April, Denali plans to submit to federal regulators the terms
it expects to offer during the open season, the company said.
A rival pipeline project backed by TransCanada Corp. and North
Slope producer Exxon Mobil Corp. plans its open season this spring
and summer.
Governor Parnell
calls Denali's announcement good news for Alaska.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Judge rules
against state in Point Thomson dispute
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A judge has ruled that the state
improperly terminated ExxonMobil's leases to develop the Point
Thomson gas fields on the North Slope.
Alaska Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason said in a 30-page
decision Monday that Department of Natural Resources Commissioner
Tom Irwin did not follow proper procedures regarding hearings to
which Exxon was entitled.
The state attorney general's office said it is analyzing the
decision.
In 2005, the state notified Exxon that its development plan for
Point Thomson was inadequate and began stripping the companies of
their leases. The state terminated the leases and declared them
expired after becoming frustrated with a lack of production at the
gas fields, where no drilling had occurred for decades.
ExxonMobil challenged the state's termination of those leases.
A year ago, Irwin reinstated two of the 31 leases at Point
Thomson. In exchange, Exxon pledged to start drilling there right
away. The company completed the surface section of the first gas
well last September. The well is part of the first phase of
Exxon's planned $1.3 billion natural gas cycling project at Point
Thomson.
ExxonMobil said it is studying the implications of Gleason's
ruling.
Exxon estimates that the field on the Beaufort Sea coastline,
about 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, holds an estimated 8 trillion
cubic feet of gas. That's about a quarter of all the known gas
reserves on the North Slope. The company estimates that it also
contains about 200 million barrels of condensate or liquid
hydrocarbons.
The Irving, Texas-based company has said it plans to complete the
well by the end of next year and begin production by the end of
2014.
The gas is a crucial part of a proposed multibillion-dollar
natural gas pipeline plan from the North Slope into Canada for
delivery to the U.S.
Parnell
seeks to suspend motor fuel tax once again
Governor Sean Parnell has sent the Legislature a bill that would
suspend the state's motor fuel tax for two years.
The levy was suspended as part of an energy assistance bill in
2008, but its terms lapsed in last September.
The new suspension proposed by the Governor would apply to gasoline, diesel, and marine and aviation fuel.
Parnell says the state needs to ease the burden placed on Alaskans
while long term solutions are sought to the high energy costs
across Alaska.
Parnell
seeks to renew veterans' mortgage program
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Sean Parnell wants to renew a
mortgage loan program for veterans, a plan that will require
voters to authorize up to $800 million in state-guaranteed bonds.
First, lawmakers must approve.
Parnell says the proposal would allow for the continuation of
guaranteed housing loans for qualified veterans by the Alaska
Housing Finance Corporation.
Since the early 1980s, Parnell says, voters have authorized $2.7
billion in state-guaranteed veterans bonds. He says nearly all
those bonds have been issued and the measure is needed to keep the
program going.
He says the program is meant to provide veterans the lowest
possible interest rates without imposing income eligibility
requirements.
The bill he proposed cites a figure of $600 million but his
spokeswoman says it must be amended.
Egan bill would
allow leverage of property taxes for energy improvements.
A measure pre-filed by Juneau Senator Dennis Egan in advance of
the January 19th start of the next legislative session deals with
the establishment of energy improvement programs by local
governments.
He said on KINY's Capital Chat Tuesday that Senate Bill 212 would
allow local governments to provide their residents credits against
their property taxes for such improvements.
Local governments would set interest rates and the length of time
for repayment.
If property is sold, Egan says the energy improvement costs would
become the responsibility of the new owner.
He has it would not encumber local governments.
Egan says he learned of the concept through a forum sponsored by
the National Council of State Legislatures.
He says 13 other states already have such guidelines in their law.
Allen goes
to prison
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A key player in Alaska's political
corruption cases has reported to a federal prison in California.
Bureau of Prisons spokesman Edmond Ross says Bill Allen arrived
Tuesday morning at the low-security Terminal Island federal
correctional institution.
Allen is the former chief executive of oil field services company
VECO Corp. who pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy and tax
violations.
His sentencing on the 2007 plea was delayed until October, when he
was sentenced to three years and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine.
Allen was not taken into custody until he checked into prison.
Ross says Rick Smith, a former VECO executive who pleaded guilty
to the same charges, had not yet reported to prison.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Charges against accused
caribou killer thrown out
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state judge has thrown out charges
filed against one of the men accused of killing and wasting
caribou at Point Hope.
The Anchorage Daily News reports the lawyer for the 19-year-old,
Roy Oktollik, successfully argued the state failed to prove he
aided in the killing.
The decision Tuesday could lead the judge to dismiss charges
against three other men.
Another three men have already pleaded guilty for the killing that
wasted 37 caribou in 2008 on the tundra outside Point Hope.
(Anchorage Daily News)
142,800 gallons of fuel spilled
on Alaska island
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An estimated 142,800 gallons of diesel
fuel spilled from a storage tank on an island in Alaska's remote
Aleutian chain.
The Coast Guard says 1,000 gallons from the Monday spill on Adak
Island entered a creek and flowed into a small boat harbor.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says the fuel
flowed from an underground storage tank as a ship moored at a pier
pumped fuel to the tank.
The flow reached a drainage system that collects water from around
the underground tanks and sends it into the creek. The amount
overwhelmed the system's oil and water separator.
The fuel tank is owned by Adak Petroleum. Workers discovered the
spill, halted pumping and set up boom to contain the fuel.
Adak Island is 1,300 miles southwest of Anchorage.
Seattle officers arrive in Alaska
to help in case
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two Seattle police detectives have
arrived in Anchorage to help authorities investigate a shooting
that left an officer with serious injuries.
Lt. Dave Parker says the detectives played pivotal roles in
investigating an Oct. 31 ambush on a parked patrol car in Seattle
that killed Officer Timothy Brenton and injured another officer.
Christopher Monfort has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder
and attempted murder in that case.
The detectives, whose names have not been released, are assisting
in the case of Anchorage police Officer Jason Allen, who was shot
early Saturday as he sat in his patrol car in a residential
neighborhood.
Police say a dark-colored car pulled up next to Allen and a
passenger fired, striking the 47-year-old officer as many as five
times in his arms and torso.
Bar owner
in Anchorage allowed to return to business in wake of groping
charges
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage bar owner accused of
groping four women can go back to work at the bar called The
Avenue because his accusers no longer work there.
John Pattee is still facing sexual assault charges.
KTUU reports that at a bail hearing Tuesday the judge ordered
Pattee to remain under the watch of custodians to keep him away
from alcohol.
(KTUU)
Wood-burning
blamed for poor air in Fairbanks
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — You might expect pollution problems in
big cities like Los Angeles or New York.
But Fairbanks?
Federal environmental officials say Alaska's second largest city
is right up there on the list of cities violating fine particle
pollution standards.
In Fairbanks, officials say the problem is due in part to wood
stoves and outdoor boilers belching small particles into the air.
That's forcing residents to breathe some of the worse air in the
nation.
The city has three years to take corrective action to get off that
list or risk losing federal money.
The borough assembly on Thursday will decide if locals come up
with that game plan or leave it to the state.
Family says
Tennessee soldier killed loved military
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) — The father of a Tennessee paratrooper
who was killed in Afghanistan after an attack on his combat
outpost says his son was doing what he loved and understood the
risks.
The Department of Defense announced Monday the death of
35-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Jason O.B. Hickman of Kingsport on
Thursday.
His father, J.D. Hickman, told the Kingsport Times News that his
son was a 1992 graduate of Dobyns-Bennett High School in
Kingsport. He joined the Army nine years ago and previously
deployed to Iraq.
The military said he was wounded when enemy forces attacked his
unit at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana with an improvised explosive
device and small arms fire. He was assigned to Brigade Special
Troops Battalion, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry
Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
(Kingsport Times-News - http://www.timesnews.net
)
Defense Dept: Remains of Utah
pilot identified
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Department of Defense says the remains
of an Air Force pilot missing in action from the Vietnam War have
been identified.
The department's POW/Missing Personnel Office says the remains of
Air Force Maj. Russell C. Goodman will be buried in Alaska.
Goodman was from Salt Lake City.
Goodman will be honored this week at Nellis Air Force Base in
Nevada. The base is home to the U.S. Air Force Thunderbird
demonstration team. When Goodman went missing, he was assigned to
the Thunderbirds and was flying with the U.S. Navy on an exchange
program.
Goodman went missing Feb. 20, 1967 when his plane was struck by
enemy anti-aircraft fire. Two excavations conducted between 1993
and 2008 recovered human remains eventually identified as
Goodman's.
Assault, suicide reported in Clam
Gulch
KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Alaska State Troopers say a man committed
suicide hours after he assaulted a woman with a knife at a Clam
Gulch cabin.
The assault victim told investigators that Paul Daniels was
suicidal and did not want to go to prison.
The Troopers' Megan Peters says investigators found no evidence of
foul play, but the state medical examiner's office will conduct an
autopsy.
The assault was reported Thursday at about 2:30 p.m. Troopers
found the 46-year-old Daniels dead when they reached the scene.
They determined he had committed suicide at around 6:30 p.m.
The victim was taken to Central Peninsula Hospital and is expected
to make a full recovery.
(Peninsula Clarion)
Economist
sees weak job recovery in Alaska
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage-based economist sees an
"uneven" swing toward recovery.
Marcus Hartley says job gains in health, education and trade
should outpace losses in tourism, construction and natural
resource production.
As a result, he predicts statewide employment to crawl higher by
about one-half of 1 percent in 2010.
State-generated forecasts are less optimistic, with expectations
that Alaska will shed jobs.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Unemployment tax
refund available
Alaska workers might be eligible for an unemployment tax refund if
they worked for more than one employer last year.
According to the state Department of Labor workers who paid more
than a total of $163.50 in unemployment taxes during 2009, because
they worked for more than one Alaska employer, can apply for a
refund for anything over that amount.
Unemployment insurance taxes paid by workers might be listed on
workers' W-2 forms or on pay stubs.
Workers can also get the information from their employers
The refund form is available at labor.alaska.gov/estax/forms/eerefund.pdf
or can be requested by
mail from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, Employment Security Tax Office, P. O. Box 115509,
Juneau, 99811-5509.
First of USDA
economic round tables in Alaska set for this week
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is
holding an economic round-table Thursday in Fairbanks.
It will bring together business, union, government and community
leaders to discuss ways to create jobs.
The meeting at the Alpine Lodge is the first of four in the state.
The others will be Tuesday in Kotzebue, Jan. 26 in Juneau, and
Feb. 1 in Anchorage.
Wilson
dealing with pre-session Ponchogate
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — State Rep. Tammie Wilson needs a new
gate to comply with Fairbanks Borough code.
The North Pole politician recently installed a plywood fence to
address a complaint about the junk on her property.
The borough's director of community planning thanked Wilson for
that effort in a letter last week.
But the letter noted that a gate made of rain ponchos is
unsuitable.
According to borough code, junkyard barriers must be made of
year-round vegetation, opaque fencing material or natural or
artificial barriers. The Borough Department of Community Planning
has final approval.
Wilson told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner she will replace the
rain ponchos with something more decorative. Her thought: recycled
aluminum cans.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Crimson
Bears' hockey team braced for tough challenges this week
It's a big week for the Juneau Douglas High School Crimson Bears'
hockey team.
The action starts Thursday evening with the "Battle of the
Bears at the Treadwell Arena when the Bartlett Golden Bears from
Anchorage are here.
Assistant Coach Tom Rutecki says this will be the first time
they've ever played a Cook Inlet Conference team.
The puck drops Thursday night at 6:45 and Friday night at 8.
Rutecki says those contests will provide a good tune up for two
league games against West Valley of Fairbanks Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday night's game starts at 7. Sunday's affairs is a matinee
beginning at 1:45.
If Juneau Douglas wins both games, Rutecki says they'll take over
first place in the Mid Alaska League.
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