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Alaskan thankful
to be alive after Haiti quake
MIAMI (AP) — It took Christa Brelsford's brother and their
friends nearly an hour and a half to dig her from the debris after
Haiti's powerful quake, her legs trapped by rubble when a building
collapsed.
But Brelsford is glad to be alive, even though her right leg had
to be amputated below the knee.
Brelsford was volunteering in Dabonne, south of Port-au-Prince,
Haiti, on an 11-day program to teach adult and child literacy when
the quake hit.
Airlifted to a South Florida hospital, she told reporters Thursday
that she was running down some stairs when she slipped and fell as
the building gave way. Her brother frantically began digging,
pulling her free.
Brelsford was among 11 injured survivors from Haiti flown to the
University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital on Wednesday.
Brelsford, a student at Arizona State University who grew up in
Alaska, said she is thankful to be alive.
She was transported to a United Nations peacekeeping base, where
she slept on the floor with about 100 other Haitian and American
survivors. Eventually she was flown to the hospital where her
right leg was amputated.
She says she is "so thankful to be alive, there are so many
ways in the past two days that I could have been dead."
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Information from: The Miami Herald
Fundraiser
mounted in Juneau for Haitian relief
Here's a chance to get into Yoga and help the people of Haiti at
the same time.
Lindsey Bloom of Rainforest Yoga says they will donate proceeds from
their class Friday evening to the Haitian relief effort in the
wake of this week's earthquake.
She says all proceeds will go to Partners in Health which bills
itself as providing health care to the poor.
Bloom says they wanted to provide Juneau residents a way to help
in the relief effort.
Rainforest Yoga is on the second floor of the Emporium Mall
building downtown at 745 South Franklin Street. The class is from
5:15 to 6:45 p.m. Friday.
If you don't want to or can't attend the class, donations can be
dropped off there, according to Bloom. Or she also suggests going
on line to the Partners in Health web site.
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http://www.pih.org/home.html
Parnell
pushes changes to Alaska energy tax
BECKY BOHRER - Associated Press Writer
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell wants greater
incentives for oil and gas companies to help boost production and
create potentially hundreds of new jobs.
His plan includes expanding tax credits for drilling and well work
costs.
The proposal comes just days before legislators convene in regular
session and is pegged to a report by the state Department of
Revenue that finds Alaska's two-year-old oil and gas tax
performing as expected but with areas that could be changed to
spur additional development.
Parnell characterized the changes as refinements. He says the
estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in additional tax
credits are a small price to pay for a state that runs on oil and
gas revenue and currently has billions of dollars in budget
reserves.
Feds serve search
warrants on Chevron
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Federal authorities have served search
warrants on Chevron Corp. properties in Alaska.
A Department of Justice spokesman wouldn't gives details of the
search.
A spokesman for Chevron told the Anchorage Daily News that the
Environmental Protection Agency has been investigating air
emissions at two of its properties that are operated by Union Oil
Co.
Tree causes area wide
power outage
A tree falling on an electrical transmission line caused yesterday
afternoon's (Wednesday) area wide 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.
Residents asked
to check storm drains to prevent flooding
The current warm spell could cause flooding and city officials are
requesting that residents check nearby storm drains.
The city is encouraging people to help out and open up storm
drains in their areas and make sure culverts and ditches are
cleaned out and open so the water keeps moving.
In that regard, the city is going to be hauling snow for the next
few days.
Crews will be hauling snow in the downtown area at night.
In the Valley crews will be working during the daytime hours so
the city can maximize the use of trucks and equipment.
Finance Committee takes up two
funding requests and rejects one
The Assembly Finance Committee is recommending to not fund the
League of Women Voters 2010 budget survey.
City Manager Rod Swope says the committee made the decision in an
effort to save money due to the current budget deficit.
At last night's (Wednesday) meeting the committee did recommend
approval of Sealaska Heritage Institute's request of $20,000 in
financial assistance to host Celebration 2010.
Swope says the committee felt that benefits and revenues received
from the event offset the amount of money requested.
The funding includes $10,000 to help put on the event, $9,000 for
Centennial Hall and equipment rentals and $1,000 for Juneau police
security.
Celebration 2010 is a three day event scheduled for June 3-5,
2010.
The committee also heard from it's auditor Elgee Rehfeld Mertz,
last night.
Swope says it's fair to say they got a good report from auditor
Max Mertz.
The city manager says there were no major issues or problems
identified in terms of expenditures or fraud.
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 note holders 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 industry wide 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 Wednesday in Illinois.
The Kendall Country Sheriffs' Office arrested 45 year old Jane Roth
without incident in Oswego, Illinois.
A grand jury in Sitka returned an indictment for her arrest
Friday.
Roth, also known as Jane Limb and Jane Coville, 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.
Colville 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.
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Information from: Anchorage Daily News
Woman sentenced
who embezzled from Little League
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A woman who embezzled tens of thousands of
dollars from the Little League has been sentenced to prison.
Arlene Moe was ordered to spend one year behind bars for stealing
$50,000 from the Gastineau Channel Little League in Juneau. She is
the former treasurer of the group.
Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins also ordered Moe to do 500
hours of community service and serve 10 years probation for the
felony theft. Moe also will have to pay nearly $51,000 in
restitution.
She can get off probation early if she pays back the money in less
than 10 years.
(Juneau Empire)
Woman taken into
custody after Anchorage standoff
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Anchorage police say a woman who
threatened to hurt herself and her 4-year-old daughter has been
taken into custody after holding authorities at bay for more than
two hours.
Lt. Dave Parker said a SWAT team was called out early Thursday
afternoon to the East 41st Court apartment building where the
woman lives.
Parker says police negotiators were called in and the woman agreed
to surrender at about 2:30 p.m.
Neither the woman nor her child was injured. The woman's name was
not immediately released.
Parker says police department policy dictates that a psychological
evaluation be conducted in such cases.
Alaska Air
to employ RNP navigation at Adak and Ketchikan
Alaska Airlines will begin using Required Navigation Performance
precision approach technology to land aircraft in Adak today.
(Thursday)
In addition, the airline will use improved procedures to land in
Ketchikan in March which will allow it to land more precisely and
with lower visibility minimums.
By following more direct, RNP-guided approaches, the airline says
it will reduce weather-related diversions and cancellations for
Ketchikan and Adak bound flights and cut fuel consumption.
RNP technology
provides computer-plotted landing paths with pinpoint accuracy by
using a combination of onboard navigation technology and the
Global Positioning System satellite network.
Sarah Dalton, Alaska's Director of Airspace Technology, says it
allows aircraft to fly safer, more reliable landings, and reduces
reliance on ground-based navigation aids.
Since Alaska
Airlines pioneered the use of RNP technology in Juneau in the
mid-1990s, she says the system has been credited with saving
thousands of flights from diversions or delays each year due to
poor weather and airport equipment outages.
Since 1996, Alaska
has introduced similar RNP procedures at 45 percent of the
airports it serves in Alaska as well as in Washington, D.C.;
Portland, Ore.; and Palm Springs, Calif.
Dalton says Alaska is the only major U.S. carrier with a fully
equipped RNP fleet and fully trained crews.
Arctic link
proposed by Alaskan company
An Alaska-based fiber optic company is proposing a cable to link
Asia and Europe directly via the Arctic ocean.
The Kodiak-Kenai Cable Company's "Arctic Link" would
stretch 10-thousand miles from Japan to the United Kingdom.
The project has an estimated price tag of 1-billion dollars.
The company plans to begin laying cable next year and have the
arctic link complete by 2013. but first, the company and its
partners need to line up customers and financing.
CEO Walt Ebell says the shrinking polar ice cap makes it possible
for ships to lay cable in the Arctic Ocean.
The cable would come ashore at two points in Alaska -- at Dutch
Harbor and Prudhoe Bay -- and has the potential to bring
high-speed telecommunications to rural communities that now rely
on satellite.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Member of
Obama's cabinet in Anchorage Friday
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke
plans to discuss trade and rural development opportunities when he
visits Anchorage.
Friday's trip with U.S. Sen. Mark Begich also is set to include a
meeting with officials aimed at raising awareness of the upcoming
2010 Census.
Palin to be toast of the
town in Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin plans to be
in Las Vegas in April to keynote a trade convention for wine and
spirit wholesalers.
The Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America says the former
Alaska governor will speak at its opening general session.
Association president Craig Wolf says Palin supports free
enterprise and the group is proud to have her as a speaker.
Clean up of
North Slope oil spill finished
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Department of Environmental
Conservation says crews have completed the cleanup of a North
Slope oil spill.
About 46,000 gallons of crude oil and oily water spilled in
November from a pipeline that froze and ruptured.
The line operated by BP Exploration carried the oil, water and
natural gas to the Lisburne Processing Center for separation.
(Anchorage Daily News)
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
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.
University
research ship named
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A new 254-foot research ship being
built for the University of Alaska Fairbanks will be called the
Sikuliaq (see-KOO'-lee-auk), an Inupiat word meaning "young
sea ice."
The ship will be able to break through ice 2.5 feet thick.
When completed in three years the ship will be based at the Seward
Marine Center.
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.
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.
Bomb donated to
Kodiak museum goes out with a bang
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A World War II relic which was displayed
outside a Kodiak bar for years turned out not to be a dud at all.
Soldiers on Wednesday detonated the 1,263-pound 'Deck-Busting'
aerial bomb on a remote area of the rifle range.
Radio station KMXT reports the bomb lost some of boom after 60
years, but it did go out with a bang.
The ordnance was recently donated to the Kodiak Military History
Museum by a local resident, but the museum director determined it
was more than just an interesting artifact.
Soldiers from the Fort Richardson Explosive Ordnance detail
inspected the bomb and determined it still had Dunnite, a highly
explosive material also known as "Explosive D."
They recorded the detonation and salvaged a piece of the "Da
Bomb," as it was known, for display at the museum.
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Information from: KMXT-FM
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 this (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 tonight 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.
Fairbanks
reaches 40-below benchmark
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The city of Fairbanks recorded its
first 40-degree below zero temperature of the winter.
A low temperature of 41-below zero was recorded at the airport
Tuesday.
Clear skies and cold air from the Arctic have produced the coldest
temperatures of the winter, and the National Weather Service says
the cold snap is expected to continue into the weekend.
The last winter without a 40-below day in Fairbanks was 2002-03.
The coldest spot in the Interior on Monday was 63 below in the
community of Chicken on the Taylor Highway east of Fairbanks.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
UK fugitive
nabbed in Washington state after car crash
SEATTLE (AP) — A fugitive facing an attempted murder charge in
the United Kingdom has been arrested in Washington after his car
crashed into a state trooper's.
Investigators say Julio Martins-Paes fled his country four years
ago after he was accused of stabbing his wife.
U.S. Marshal Joe Hawe says in a statement that his whereabouts
were unknown until his car slammed into a state trooper's on
Interstate 5 south of Seattle last month.
The trooper wasn't seriously hurt but Martins-Paes was
hospitalized and later charged with driving under the influence.
Hawe says it was during the crash probe that investigators
discovered his true identity and arrested him Wednesday on a
warrant.
There was no immediate word on extradition.
(Additional information from: KOMO-TV, http://www.komotv.com/)
Anchorage
Arts supporter and education leader passes away
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Arts patron and education leader Betti
Cuddy has died at age 85.
The Anchorage Daily News reports the longtime Alaskan was
surrounded by family when she died at home Wednesday.
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