The program is in its third year.

Augustine blows again 
There was another eruption of the Augustine Volcano this morning. (Tuesday).

Seismologist Michelle Coombs (Cummes) is with the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Increased shaking was noted at about seven a.m. which led the observatory to increase the alert level to code red from orange.

Just before eight a.m., an eruption began and lasted for a little over four minutes.

She says reports from the National Weather Service indicated a resulting plume is at about 45-hundred feet.

The volcano erupted steam and ash four times on Friday. The most recent explosion occurred just after midnight on Saturday.

The volcano is on an uninhabited island about 180 miles southwest of Anchorage.

No injuries reported in pile up on Egan
Authorities responded to a three vehicle accident a few minutes before eight this morning. (Tuesday)

The accident occurred inbound on Egan just before the Salmon Creek Intersection at three and a half mile.

When police officers arrived, Sergeant Ed Mercer says they found a 2000 Ford Explorer, a 1998 Dodge Durango, and a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban partially blocking the left inbound lane approximately 500 feet north of the intersection.

The sergeant says their investigation revealed that the Suburban operated by a 37 year old woman had stopped for standing traffic.

The Durango, driven by a 36 year old man, had stopped just behind the Suburban when the Ford Explorer, operated by a 16 year old girl, rear ended the Durango.

The Durango was pushed into the rear of the Suburban by the impact.

The 16 year old girl who was driving the Ford Explorer was cited for careless driving and released.

No one was injured, including a 16 year old boy who was a passenger in the Explorer.

Damage done to all three vehicles was estimated at $10,500.

The accident closed the roadway for awhile. The right hand lane was opened by police following their arrival on scene. It took about 40 minutes to clear the scene.

Budget matters, calendar, and achievement report before School Board 
A work session and regular meeting are planned by the Juneau School Board this evening.

School District Superintendent Peggy Cowan says the work session is on the budget for the coming two years.

She says the board is currently in the middle of its budget preparation process. Its working to deliver a spending plan to the Assembly by the end of March.

She says the board will be hearing a report from the Budget Advisory Committee which is a group of parents and district school representatives.

A budget revision is one item highlighting the agenda of the regular meeting. The revision is necessary since enrollment is below initial projections.

The weightiest item on the agenda, according to the superintendent, will be a very thorough report on student achievement in the school district. Cowan says its a federally required report on student's academic achievements.

The calendar for next school year is up for final action.

The work session begins at 5 p.m. and the regular meeting at 6 in the Juneau Douglas High School Library.

90-day session bill gets hearing
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Facing the possibility that a similar citizen's initiative might make ballot this fall, lawmakers today heard a bill to shorten the legislative session from 121 days to 90.

Representative Ralph Samuels (an Anchorage Republican) says the Legislature can finish its work in 90 days.

Lawmakers are split. Some say the Legislature would be less effective with the shorter time. Plus, they ask, would a 90-day deadline end up tipping the balance of power to the governor and his administration?

Waiting in the wings is a ballot initiative to reduce the length of the session. The initiative's main sponsor, Representative Jay Ramras (a Fairbanks Republican) says he turned in 45,300 signatures to the Division of Elections for certification.

Ramras says the bill and the initiative are nearly identical.

If the Legislature passes substantially similar legislation, the initiative won't go to a vote.

Pension obligation bonds touted in committee
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Alaska lawmakers today (Tuesday) heard a sales pitch for pension obligation bonds.

A Seattle consultant touts the bonds as one way to address the state's nearly 6 billion dollar shortfall in its retirement systems.

Carol Samuels of Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation says the idea is to invest the proceeds from the sale at a better return rate than the interest cost of the bonds. The difference would go to cover the unfunded pension liabilities.

Other states have used the bonds with mixed results. Samuels describes them as a ``good gamble''.

The state Department of Revenue does not endorse their use. Deputy Commissioner Tom Boutin (boo-TAN) told the House State Affairs Committee that the bonds depend on market timing for success, whereas institutional investors plan for the long term.

Task force gets extra time to recommend gaming commission
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska House is giving a task force extra time to recommend whether the state needs a gaming commission to regulate gambling and games of chance.

The nine-member task force was supposed to present its recommendations to the Legislature and disband by the end of the month.

The task force met about once a month between legislative sessions, but members could not reach a consensus or whether to recommend creating a commission to provide oversight of gaming.

The group now has until the end of March to finish its work. 

Precautions taken following girl's death in Anchorage park sledding accident
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Officials at Anchorage's Russian Jack Springs Park are instituting new precautions after a sledding death.

Eleven-year-old Elizabeth Mackey died of injuries she suffered after she hit a cottonwood tree.

Parts of a popular sledding hill are now roped off.

Authorities say the girl was among some 100 Junior Nordic skiers at the park January 7th.

Her father says she had just finished skiing and decided to join two friends for a couple of quick sledding trips down the slope.

Steve Mackey says that on the second run, the sled headed for a stand of cottonwoods.

He says the girls had agreed to jump off but his daughter was seated in the middle and didn't get off in time.
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Mackey says the tree Elizabeth hit probably was six inches in diameter.

He says he's not sure a helmet would have saved her life.

She was hit on the lower part of the head in back of her ear.

She was pronounced dead Thursday.

Park officials Monday had barricaded the route she took with hay bales and had posted guards to prevent other sledders from taking it.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Federal government plans new border ID for frequent travelers
STATE DEPARTMENT (AP) - Of importance to Alaskans is word from the secretaries of State and Homeland Security that a new border I-D program will be in place by the end of the year.

The program is called PASS, which stands for people access security service. It will be used at land border crossings in Canada and Mexico.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says the new PASS I-D card will resemble a driver's license and do away with the need for travelers who cross the border frequently to carry their passports.

Chertoff says the PASS program will eventually feed into what he calls a ``global security network.'' He says the system will balance security concerns at home with the need for people to enter and exit the country without undue delays.

Fire department called to fire at laundromat
There was a fire call to the laundromat at the Mendenhall Mall before eleven Monday morning.

Captain Dave Boddy says it was a dryer fire.

The fire was out upon their arrival. People on scene put it out with a dry chemical extinguisher.

Damage was limited to the dryer. 

Hickel shares 'owner state' vision at Young Alaskans Conference
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Former Governor Walter Hickel says a state wealthy in resources held in common by residents should not be experiencing poverty.

But he says greed could get in the way of that.

Hickel spoke Sunday in Fairbanks to the Conference of Young Alaskans.

He says the answer to greed is a democratic system conducted in the light of day, led by pioneering people of courage and integrity.

Hickel says that's what the Alaska Constitution created, what he calls the ``owner state.''

The former governor says the natural resources article in the Alaska Constitution was the first and only of its kind in the nation.

It says that Alaska's lands and resources are to be developed for the maximum benefit of the people.
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The Conference of Young Alaskans commemorates the creation of the Alaska Constitution 50 years ago.

It's part of the Creating Alaska project by the University of Alaska.

Benefits of primary seatbelt law outlined
The Alaska Highway Safety Office is helping to push a bill through the legislative process that would allow police to pull over and ticket drivers for not wearing their seat belts.

Office Administrator Cindy Cashen says in 2000 traffic accidents cost Alaska $475 Million. That's about $758 for each resident.

She says a primary safety belt law will save Alaska about seven lives, 102 serious injuries, and $29 Million in costs each year.

Seatbelt use in Alaska has climbed to 78 point 4 percent in 2005, but that's still below the national average of 84 percent.

Cashen expects the law will increase use by eleven percent.

Senate Bill 87 was approved by the State House last week and sent to the Senate for concurrence in House changes.

That action is pending in the Senate.

Bill would require hospitals to release infection statistics
KENAI, Alaska (AP) - State Senate Majority Leader Gary Stevens says he wants patients to know about infection rates at Alaska hospitals.

Stevens has introduced legislation requiring hospitals to release information about cases of infection within their walls.

The Kodiak Republican says a friend was in a hospital last year for a simple operation and ended up with an infection that put him close to death.

Stevens says he studied the issue and learned that some two million infections a year are acquired in hospitals.

He says an estimated 90-thousand people die annually as a result.

Stevens says he learned that it's the sixth-leading cause of death in the country.
(Peninsula Clarion) 

Alborn qualifies for another Olympics
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Another Alaskan has qualified for the winter Olympics in Turin, Italy next month.
Ski jumper Alan Alborn will be one of five American jumpers.

He's the eighth Alaskan named to the U-S Olympic team.

Alborn holds the U-S distance mark in ski jumping.

When he was 17 in 19-98, he competed in the Nagano Winter Games and placed 42nd and 44th in two events.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Alborn finished 11th in the 90-meter individual jump and 34th in the 120-meter jump.

The five-time national champion briefly retired in 2003, citing chronic knee problems and burnout.
(Anchorage Daily News)