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Alaska governor
gives State of State address
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Sean Parnell is taking aim at the
federal government in his first State of the State address.
He says Alaskans — not Washington — should control the state's
destiny.
The Republican is also using the speech to lay out his legislative
agenda, one that includes proposals ranging from creating
scholarships for good students to suspending the motor fuels tax
and digging into the state's list of deferred maintenance
projects.
He wants lawmakers who began meeting this week to approve the
funding for his infrastructure plan by March 1 so construction can
begin this summer.
Parnell took office last summer, after then-Gov. Sarah Palin
resigned. He faces a potentially tough election bid later this
year.
Parnell: Alaskans thoughts
with people of Haiti
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell remembered the
earthquake victims in Haiti.
He also paid tribute in his State of the State Address on
Wednesday to Alaska service members sent to Haiti to help with
relief efforts.
Parnell says Alaskans also admire the courage of siblings Christa
and Julian Brelsford.
The Alaskans were in Haiti when their building collapsed. Christa
was airlifted to Miami, where her leg was amputated.
Parnell said he spoke to her this week, and notes nothing could
crush her spirit.
She told him she's grateful for the support of Alaskans for her,
her family and the people of Haiti.
She encouraged Alaskans to be thankful for everything and to count
life as a "big blessing."
Parnell: Companies must
commit to jobs, Alaska
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Sean Parnell says he doesn't support
giving tax breaks to oil and gas companies without commitments the
companies will invest — and create jobs — in the state.
The comments came in his first State of the State address
Wednesday.
He has proposed greater incentives for companies, including
expanding tax credits for drilling and well work costs, as a way
to spur additional development. He's said the estimated hundreds
of millions of dollars in additional credits are a small price to
pay for the jobs and opportunities they'd create.
The plan doesn't go as far as some House Republicans want. They
worry Alaska's oil and gas production tax is stifling development.
The issue is expected to be discussed during the current
legislative session.
Parnell urges
crackdown on domestic violence
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Sean Parnell says Alaska must
confront the "private evil" of domestic violence and
sexual assault.
Parnell has made a crack-down on abuse a centerpiece of the
legislative agenda for the coming year.
Among other things, he says he wants to increase funding for
shelters, put new public safety officers in villages and make it
mandatory for sex offenders registered in other states and move to
Alaska to register here as well.
Parnell said the issue is personal; in his State of the State
address Wednesday, he said he knows change is possible because
he's seen it happen across generations of his own family.
Senate Majority
weighs in on State of State speech
Several members of the Senate Bipartisan Majority Coalition
commented on Governor Parnell's State of the State speech
Wednesday night.
Senate President Gary Stevens says he was impressed with the
governor's firm position on how the federal government is
interfering with Alaska's destiny.
Anchorage Democrat Johnny Ellis said Parnell's vow to fight the
feds is not a new development for an Alaskan governor.
Ellis said he's worked with six governors and they all made
similar speeches to the Alaska legislature.
He said Parnell's speech was "the latest iteration."
Meanwhile, Senate Finance co-chair Lyman Hoffman said he not sure
the Senate can move at the governor's March 1st time frame to
approve deferred maintenance projects and capital projects
including the crime lab and UAF Life Science Building.
JPD arrests
three on robbery and assault charges
Three people were placed under arrest early Tuesday morning in
connection with an alleged assault of a man the night before.
Police received a call at about 10 Monday night reporting a man had
been attacked in the 8200 block of Glacier Highway.
When officers arrived, they found a 40 year old Juneau man
suffering with what were described as mild abrasions and
lacerations.
The man was taken to the hospital by Capital City Fire Rescue
where he was treated and released.
Investigation revealed that the victim was driving in a car with a
friend when some people they knew passed them in another car.
Police say both cars drove to where Glacier Highway ends at the 8200 block.
Three people got out of the lead car and approached the victim's
vehicle. After the victim got out of his car, the three people
allegedly began beating and kicking him.
Police report one of the attackers used a stun gun on him and
another held a knife to his face while threatening him.
After the attack, police say they got into their car and drove
away. The driver of the victim's car also drove away leaving the
man behind. He went to a nearby building and called for help.
Search warrants served in the 8900 block of Mendenhall Loop Road
at about 6:30 yesterday morning led to the arrests.
Jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center were 40 year old
Joseph Cropley, 45 year old Tillie Santos, and 34 year old Rafael
Lopez.
All are facing robbery and assault charges.
Police determined that they were acquaintances of the victim.
Jail
sentence handed down for Angoon sex offender
An Angoon Man has been sentenced to eight and a half years in jail
for the sexual abuse of two young girls in the early 1980s.
The sentence for 50 year old George Jim, Jr., was handed down in
Sitka Superior Court on Friday.
A State Trooper dispatch says the abuse took place in Angoon when
both girls were under the age of 10.
The dispatch says the crimes were initially reported and
investigated in 1983, but no formal charges were ever filed.
The case was re-opened in 2008 when new information was
discovered.
In addition to the jail time, another eight years was suspended.
Jim will also be on probation for 10 years following his release
and is required to register as a convicted sex offender for the
rest of his life.
Kopp serves as
legislative aide
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Chuck Kopp, who briefly served as former
Gov. Sarah Palin's public safety commissioner, is working as a
legislative aide to Republican Sen. Fred Dyson.
An aide to the Eagle River lawmaker said Dyson was not immediately
available Wednesday but confirmed Kopp's new position.
Kopp, a former Kenai police chief, was appointed public safety
commissioner by Palin following her controversial firing of former
Commissioner Walt Monegan in what became known as Troopergate.
Kopp resigned days into the job after an undisclosed reprimand
stemming from a sexual harassment claim against him came to light.
Palin to
visit Eugene in April
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sarah Palin will visit Eugene, Oregon, April
23 to speak at the Lane County Republican Party's Lincoln Day
fundraiser.
Bill Young, the party's Lane County chairman, told The
Register-Guard that the fundraiser is typically held near
Lincoln's birthday in February but the date was changed to
accommodate Palin's schedule.
Local Republican Party leaders have been working with Palin's
handlers for nearly a year in an effort to bring her to Eugene.
The room reserved at the Hilton Eugene has capacity for 750. Lane
County Republicans will get first crack at attending and, if there
is still space remaining, the invitation will be extended to
Republicans in neighboring counties or the rest of the state.
(The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
Comment period
for Douglas Harbor dredging extended
Federal and state oversight agencies have extended the public
comment period over the plan to dredge Douglas Harbor and dumping
spoils into Gastineau Channel as part of the CBJ Docks and Harbors
plan to rebuild the facility.
The deadline was extended 30 days to February 5.
Port Director John Stone says it seems routine to extend the
public comment period for projects of this type, so they're not
surprised. He says they anticipated it would probably take the
agencies awhile to get through the review process.
Stone says they still hope to have a decision by the beginning of
the summer so they can determine if they're going out to bid to
rebuild the harbor.
He says they spent about a year looking at every possible
alternative which included shipping the dredged spoils to a Lower
48 landfill.
That cost was estimated at seven and a half million dollars about
a year and a half ago which Stone says they can't afford.
The entire Douglas project is estimated at four and half million
dollars.
Stone says they also looked for upland sites to dump the spoils,
but he says those are few and far between here.
Another alternative is to do nothing, according to Stone, which
would mean closing down the harbor when it sinks.
Groups file
legal challenge to Chukchi drilling
MARY PEMBERTON - Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A coalition of Alaska Natives have
combined forces with some of the heaviest hitters in the
environmental community to challenge a plan by Shell to drill for
oil off northwest Alaska.
The legal challenge to Shell's approved drilling plan for the
Chukchi Sea was filed Wednesday in the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
The groups say that the plan approved by the Minerals Management
Service does not comply with federal environmental laws. And they
say the plan was approved without evaluating the potential impact
of a major oil spill in the Chukchi Sea.
The MMS has approved a Shell drilling plan for up to three
exploratory wells in the Chukchi next summer.
Senate Bipartisan
Majority Caucus lists priorities
Members of the Senate Bipartisan Majority Caucus outlined it's
goals on the first day of the legislative session.
Meeting with reporters, Senate President Gary Stevens said the
goals include a comprehensive energy package,
repaying $400 million dollars to the Constitutional Budget
Reserve, funding municipal revenue sharing, forward funding
education, a comprehensive crime package and investing in the
state's infrastructure.
Stevens told reporters that he does not see that there will be
time to revisit oil and gas taxes due to all the other work
facing the legislature.
Stevens says, it seems to him, that oil and gas tax legislation is
"a step too far for this 90 day session."
House
majority leaders identify top issues
Members of the House Majority Caucus met with reporters Tuesday
morning prior to convening their floor session for the Second
Session of the 26th Alaska Legislature.
Speaker Mike Chenault sees the operating and capital budgets as
the key issues facing this session..
He says addressing energy costs is another big issue.
And the Speaker thinks oil and gas taxation will be highlighted.
Governor's
scholarship bill before Legislature
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Lawmakers will decide this session whether
to support Gov. Parnell's ambitious new scholarship program.
Parnell proposes that the state give scholarships equal to at
least half the University of Alaska tuition for high school
students who have a "C-plus" average or better and take
four years of math, science and language arts.
Students with an "A'' average could get their entire tuition
paid for.
Alaska Republican
renewing call for more lawmakers
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Republican is renewing a push to
increase the number of state lawmakers.
The proposed constitutional amendment, introduced by Rep. Peggy
Wilson of Wrangell, would increase the number of House members
from 40 to 48 and those in the Senate from 20 to 24.
It is similar to a proposal previously raised on the Senate side.
Concerns have been raised about population losses in rural Alaska
and what that will mean for representation of those areas as
legislative district lines are redrawn following the census.
Senate President Gary Stevens acknowledged the concerns but said
he didn't see the idea gaining traction at this point.
Aurora out of
service until Friday
The state ferry Aurora has been temporarily sidelined due to
mechanical problems.
Roger Wetherell, with state Department of Transportation and
Public Facilities, says the Aurora is currently in Whittier after
experiencing a premature failure of a hydraulic lifter in one of
the ship's service generators.
That failure created cam shaft damage to the generator, and that
requires a new cam shaft and lifters to be installed.
Wetherell says parts are on the way and the Aurora is expected to
resume service this Friday.
A fortunate turn of events was helpful to the Marine Highway and
it's passengers.
The state ferry Tustumena was already in Whittier and that worked
to the advantage of the Marine Highway.
Wetherell says they were able to reroute passengers onto the
Tustumena, which is making stops in Valdez and Cordova before
returning to Kodiak.
Possible
tainted food products distributed to Alaska
Parkers Farm products which have been distributed in Alaska have
been recalled.
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration says the company has
expanded its voluntary recall of of several foods to include its
complete line of products.
The agency says the products have the potential to be contaminated
with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious
and sometimes fatal infection in young children, frail or elderly
people, and others with weakened immune systems.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation confirms the
products have been distributed in the state, but says no illnesses
have been reported.
New real
estate losses reported by Alaska Pacific Bank
Juneau based Alaska Pacific Bank revealed new losses in a filing
with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Its losses for the first nine months of the year totaled $1.26
million, up from the loss of $311,000 announced earlier.
Bank CEO Craig Dahl says the losses stemmed from a failed high-end
real estate development in Telluride, Colorado.
The federal government invested $4.8 million in Alaska Pacific as
part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program's Capital Purchase
Program, the only bank in Alaska that needed such help.
(Anchorage Daily News)
2009
weather stats for Juneau released by Juneau Forecast Office
The National Weather Service reports that 2009 in Juneau was a
year that produced near normal conditions.
Meteorologist Rick Fritsch prepared the report.
He says the average maximum temperature for 2009 was 47.9 degrees,
only point three degrees above normal.
The average minimum was 34.7 while the norm is 35.4.
The first week of the year started out cold and produced the
coldest day of the year on January 7th went it reached 9 below
zero.
July was the third warmest July on record with the highest temperature
of the year coming on the 6th when it reached 85 at the airport.
The forecaster says there were several unofficial sites that
reported 90 degrees that day. The highest official temperature ever
in Juneau was 90 at the airport on July 7 of 1975.
Precipitation amounted to 59.43 inches, just 1.2 inches above
normal, but snowfall was another matter. The year produced 168.5
inches while the norm is 93.2 inches.
Fritsch says November was quite a month when the town was hit very
hard by numerous strong storms, with one very noteworthy.
That day, Saturday, November 14th, saw the mudslides on Gastineau
Avenue which forced an evacuation of the area.
The highest wind of the year was also recorded at the airport that
day when it hit 62 miles per hour.
Probation officer
charged with bribery, misconduct
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Anchorage police have arrested a state
probation officer on bribery and misconduct charges.
Police say 53-year-old James Stanton's arrest Tuesday in the
Nesbett Courthouse, where he worked, came after an investigation
into allegations made by a woman on probation. Police say the
woman reported that she had received favors from Stanton in
exchange for sex and money.
According to the police department, detectives found that Stanton
had certified the woman's urinalysis results showed she had not
used drugs or alcohol, even though she admitted she used the
substances before the test.
Stanton was jailed Tuesday on $10,000 bail.
Palmer police arrest 4 in
oxycodone robbery
PALMER, Alaska (AP) — Police responding to a disturbance at a
Palmer apartment on Saturday arrested four men accused of a
pre-planned robbery for drugs.
Officers found the victim bleeding from the nose and mouth.
Surrounding him were four men, one of whom was wearing a ski mask
and another was wearing a bandanna over his face.
Detective Sgt. Kelly Turney says the suspects were after
oxycodone, a painkiller popular with local drug users.
Officers arrested Hollis Honeycutt, Dylan Kelley, Peter Jorge and
Adam Stroud. All are Palmer residents between the ages of 22 and
24.
They were charged with robbery, assault, theft, conspiracy and
drug misconduct.
(Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman)
Wasilla
girl still missing
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — There's still no sign of a 16-year-old
Wasilla girl who has been missing for two weeks.
A car picked up Pearl Lyle outside the family home on Jan. 5.
Alaska State Troopers want to be contacted by anyone with
information about the missing teen.
Fire
reported at Era Aviation building in Aniak
Fire caused heavy damage Monday to the Era Aviation building in
the western Alaska village of Aniak.
An Alaska State Trooper dispatch says damage to the building and
contents is estimated at between $300,000 and $400,000.
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Two Wasilla
residents charged in robbery of elderly man
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — Alaska State Troopers arrested two people
accused of robbing a 74-year-old man at a home north of Wasilla.
Troopers say the suspects taped the victim's hands and stole
money.
The man, however, was able to describe the getaway vehicle and
Troopers stopped it.
Charged with robbery and burglary are Trena Carney and Rogers
Brown.
Both are 47-year-old Wasilla residents.
Kenai
police use shoe clue to make arrest
KENAI, Alaska (AP) — An unusual footprint helped Kenai police
solve a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries.
Sgt. Scott McBride says investigators looking into Friday's
break-in at the Salvation Army thrift store in Kenai noticed an
odd footprint — a distinct, circular tread pattern.
Later that day and the following night, police spotted the same
footprint when investigating break-ins at an eatery, a bingo hall
and, finally, unlocked cars near a theater.
Police followed the footprints to the backdoor of the Merit Inn.
When Wayman E. Bright stepped outside, his shoes left the same
imprint as the tracks police had been following.
The 20-year-old Kasilof resident is charged with burglary, theft,
criminal mischief, criminal trespass and minor consuming alcohol.
(Peninsula Clarion)
Confessed bank robbery gets jail wish
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A homeless man who held up an Anchorage
bank to get thrown in jail got his wish.
Forty-one-year-old Timmy Lee Porter was sentenced last week to a
year in prison.
The Anchorage Daily News reports he sat on a couch in the bank
lobby after the holdup last October in which he took a single $100
bill.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Open house
planned at JPD
There will be an open house at the Juneau Police Department
Monday, January 25th.
It's scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m.
Department staff will be offering tours of the building,
specialized equipment will be on display and officers will provide
demonstrations.
The open house is to celebrate the fact that the department
recently achieved accreditation, making Juneau Police the only
department in the state that is accredited.
A department release says some refreshments will be provided.
The police department is located at 6255 Alaway Avenue off of
Glacier Highway in the Lemon Creek area.
Changes
announced in caribou kill case
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Prosecutors have amended charges
against defendants in the Point Hope caribou waste case.
The Anchorage Daily News reports documents filed in the case
indicate one of the accused will plead guilty to a reduced charge,
two have some charges dismissed and trial for three remaining
defendants will be held before a judge instead of a jury.
Charges were brought after investigators say 37 carcasses were
left in July 2008 on the tundra.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Ketchikan -
Misty Fiords District to get new ranger
There's word from the Forest Service of a new Ranger for the
Ketchikan -Misty Fiords Ranger District.
Jeff DeFreest is scheduled to start his new job in mid-February.
He currently works in Juneau as the agency's manager of economic
stimulus projects based in Alaska.
He's worked for the Forest Service since 1990 and first came to Alaska
in 2001.
His work in Juneau has focused primarily on permitting and
administration on the Tongass National Forest including the Greens
Creek Mine and the Kensington Mine.
In his spare time, DeFreest has served as a senior mission pilot
for the Civil Air Patrol throughout Southeast Alaska and Kodiak
Island.
Bankruptcy not
seen affecting Tokyo flights
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — This week's bankruptcy filing by Japan
Airlines is not expected to impact its already reduced service to
Fairbanks.
Fairbanks International Airport spokeswoman Angie Spear says the
airline thinks its currently scheduled flights will remain
unchanged. She noted the carrier has generally been prompt in
notifying the airport about adjustments.
The struggling carrier has scheduled nine direct flights from
Tokyo to Fairbanks this winter — down from 18 a year ago. The
chartered flights bring a wave of Japanese tourists for aurora
viewing and other activities.
Last year's flights generated an estimated $4 million in tourism
spending.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Delegation
announces grants to Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal agency has awarded a grant of
more than $2.1 million for an environmental survey of the Chukchi
Sea coastal region.
Alaska's congressional delegation on Tuesday announced the grant
from the Minerals Management Service to the Alaska Monitoring and
Assessment Program.
Other awards announced include a grant of more than $5.5 million
from the Department of Health and Human Services to the state's
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
The program helps eligible residents pay the costs of heating and
insulation during winter.
Anchorage
Olympians headed to games
Two Anchorage skiers are going to Vancouver for the Olympics.
Kikkan Randall and James Southam were named to the U.S. Olympic
Cross-country Ski Team Tuesday.
Alaska Pacific University Ski Coach Erik Flora will accompany the
eight-member team, as well.
Randall and Southam competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Randall was also on the 2002 Olympic Team.
(KENI- Anchorage)
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