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Search on near Ketchikan after receipt
of mayday
The Coast Guard is conducting a search near Ketchikan area after receiving a
mayday Monday evening.
Lieutenant Matt Moorlag in the Juneau Command Center said an unidentified
man told them his skiff overturned in Tongass Narrows near Danger Island and
that he was in the water.
The lieutenant says it couldn't be determined how many others may have been
aboard the skiff.
He says there have been no reports of anyone overdue in the area.
The mayday call to the Coast Guard can be
heard on the latest News of the North Now recorded newscast at
kinyradio.com
Anyone with information is asked to call their nearest Coast Guard Unit or
call 1-800-478-5555. That's toll free, 1-800-478-5555.
Diesel fuel nearly fowls Juneau Douglas
Treatment plant
Fuel oil was discovered in the Juneau Douglas Treatment plant late last
week.
CBJ Public Works Director Joe Buck says plant workers could smell diesel
fuel down in the treatment area.
Buck says they were able to adjust they way they were processing the sewage
to mitigate and minimize any damage to the treatment plant form the fuel
oil.
They suspect it's related to an accidental fuel spill last Thursday.
Buck says a local fuel oil company accidentally pumped fuel into a wrong
pipe at an address on Glacier avenue. The fuel oil then flowed into the
combined storm and sewer system over in the flats area near the Federal
Building on 9th street.
Indications are that upwards of 700 gallons of fuel oil was involved.
Buck says the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is
investigating.
"Near consensus" announced by
Governor on spending limit proposal
Saying there is a near consensus, Governor Murkowski unveiled a proposed
constitutional spending limit during a press conference late this morning.
The Governor calls it a "real" spending limit. He says increases
in spending are limited based on changes in personal income and population.
He offered an example that would be applied for the year 2006 would be about
a three point four growth in the budget.
He says they have a near consensus with majority lawmakers. Several,
including Eagle River Senator Fred Dyson attended the press conference.
Dyson says there are two major differences between the administration's
proposal and the bill he put in which is based on legislation initially
proposed by former Anchorage Senator Dave Donley.
One is the super majority vote needed to go over the limit. Lawmakers want a
three quarter vote, while the administration is proposing a two thirds vote.
And the majority's bill limits increases no more than two percent.
The proposal exempts federal funding and permanent fund dividends among
other items from the spending limit.
Murkowski endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment to institute a
spending cap last week during his State of the State speech.
If approved by the entire legislature, the proposal would appear on the
November General Election Ballot.
Saunders to head up new SBA office in
Juneau
The Juneau Chamber of Commerce is looking for a new executive director.
Todd Saunders has accepted a position to head up the new U. S. Small
Business Administration Office in Juneau.
Chamber President Mike Story says the chamber board will meet this week to
discuss filling the position.
He says they'll pick up where they left off when they hired Saunders to
replace Jamie Parsons. They'll probably to see if the other candidates from
that recruitment effort are still interested.
Story says its his understanding that Saunders will begin his new duties
February 9th and remain on the chamber job until the end of the month or the
first part of February.
Budget work session precedes School
Board meeting
The Juneau School Board meets for a work session to take up the district's
budget this afternoon. (Tuesday)
The Board will be presented with several scenarios for possible budget cuts
for the 04 -05 school year.
That will be followed by their regularly scheduled meeting. There are
several action items on the agenda according to Superintendent Peggy Cowen.
The 04 -05 School Calendar is up for final reading and there's a vote
scheduled for proposed regulations on chemical and drug abuse.
There also a recommendation for an innovative curriculum proposal for the
alternative high school's science program.
The board will also consider their legislative priorities.
The School Board's work session begins at 5, and the regular meeting at 6,
tonight at the district offices on Glacier Avenue.
State searching for new school tests
Alaska is looking for new standardized school tests that match up better
with what students are supposed to be learning under the federal No Child
Left Behind Act.
Alaska Education Commissioner Roger Sampson says that five testing companies
are vying to revamp Alaska's tests.
Sampson says the tests have to change to comply with federal law.
And he says Alaska should have tests that can be graded faster so teachers
can get the information quicker and use it to plan their classes.
Some educators are skeptical that Sampson can so swiftly replace the current
testing system, which took years to develop.
Tourism topic of Assembly work
session
The Assembly Committee of the Whole takes up tourism during its meeting this
evening. (Tuesday)
A review of the city's Tourism Plan is on the table along with resolution
adopting tourism management policies.
The Assembly has funded an effort by Collaboration Juneau to find lasting
solutions to the problems created by tourism.
The Assembly initially granted $46,000 last year and the group is requesting
another $50,000 from the Assembly. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. in Assembly
Chambers at City Hall.
Pump problem puts ferry behind schedule
The State ferry Malaspina is about six hours behind schedule.
Alaska Marine Highway Operations Manager Captain Jack Meyers says she was suppose to leave Auke Bay at 2-30 this morning, but her departure was delayed until 8-40.
The Malaspina was headed to Sitka when it left Juneau this morning. Captain Meyers says the vessel will be back on its published schedule when it arrives in Bellingham.
Money in Congress for Kachemak Bay fast
ferry
Congress is poised to approve money to design a high-speed ferry for
Kachemak Bay.
Supporters say the ferry could lead to a housing boom on the south shores of
Kachemak Bay.
The spending bill includes two million dollars to plan and design a
ferry for Kachemak Bay.
The state says it supports the idea, but does not want to add daily service, and
possible new subsidies, to the state ferry system.
Supporters would like to see twice-daily service, allowing residents to
commute across the water to work and shop.
The Senate is expected to vote on the spending bill, perhaps as early as
this week
Halibut Commission convenes meeting
in Juneau
Lots of business is before the International Halibut Commission during its
meeting this week in Juneau.
The commission's executive director, Bruce Leaman, says there's a public
session today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Sheffield Ball Room of Centennial
Hall.
Leaman says the panel will probably announce its decisions on various issues
during a session Friday morning.
Trade show staged in conjunction
with Halibut Commission meeting
he Southeast Seafood Industry Trade Show will be held in conjunction with
the International Pacific Halibut Commission meeting.,
One of the sponsors is the United Fishermen of Alaska. The organization's
Tom Gemmel the idea of a trade show is not a new one, but its the first time
they've been able to pull it off. Its the first time the commission has met
in Juneau since 1996.
Seafood industry analyst Chris McDowell thinks the trade show says it will
be an opportunity to see that the fishing industry in the Juneau area is
healthy.
The trade show runs from ten to six today and Wednesday at Juneau's
Centennial Hall.
Sykes stepping down from Green Party
post
Jim Sykes, a leader in the Alaska Green Party, says he wants to give
Alaskans a choice. So, he's stepping down to run in the statewide election
next November.
Sykes says his run for political office is not for personal gain. But to
give Alaskans a voice they haven't had in politics for the last 20 years.
Sykes says he has not yet decided whether to run for state office or
Congress.
Sykes, who is from Palmer, made his first run for governor as a Green Party
candidate in 1990. In that election, he received more than three percent of
the vote - the threshold for achieving official party status.
Alaska was the first state to recognize the Greens as an official party.
Sykes says he's not sure what office he will try for. But he says supporters
have asked him to run against state Senator Scott Ogan, state Representative
Bill Stoltze, Republican Congressman Don Young and U-S Senator Lisa
Murkowski.
Interior cold snap snaps
With temperatures warning by 50 degrees today in the Interior, the four-day
cold snap may be over but it's not forgotten.
The cold snap was the coldest weather to hit Fairbanks in four years.
A cold air mass from the Yukon Territory settled over the Tanana Valley late
last week.
It resulted in bitter cold temperatures throughout much of the central
Interior. The temperature dropped to 40 degrees below zero on Friday and
stayed there for most of the next four days.
The coldest temperature recorded in the Interior was 57 below at Dry Creek,
on the Alaska Highway between Delta Junction and Tok. Sub-50 below
temperatures were reported from several other Interior communities.
Oscar Velazquez of Ron's Service and Towing in Fairbanks told the Fairbanks
Daily News-Miner that the cold was good for business. He says at any given
time the company had 60 or more customers waiting for tows.
Interior residents weren't alone. Many areas of Alaska were gripped by the
cold, including Southcentral and western Alaska.
Gas authority drops plan for
lobbyist
The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority is dropping a plan to hire a
lobbyist.
The authority board had discussed hiring a lobbyist to help push for
additional legislative funding.
Chief executive officer Harold Heinze says two legislators, Senate President
Gene Therriault of North Pole and House Finance Committee Co-Chairman John
Harris of Valdez, have instead offered their staff to help.
Alaska voters created the authority by initiative in 2002.
It's supposed to present a plan to the Legislature by June for construction
and operation of a state-owned natural gas pipeline to Valdez, where gas
would be liquefied and shipped to potential buyers in the Far East or on the
U-S West Coast.
Some authority board members are skeptical that legislative staff can
adequately represent the authority.
But Heinze says an additional reason using legislative staff is that the
authority is out of money.
The authority has committed the 350-thousand dollars it had for this fiscal
year and is seeking more than two million dollars for the last five months.
Money in Congress for Kachemak Bay
fast ferry
Congress is poised to approve money to design a high-speed ferry for
Kachemak Bay.
Supporters say the ferry could lead to a housing boom on the south shores of
Kachemak Bay.
The spending bill includes two million dollars to plan and design a
ferry for Kachemak Bay.
The state says it supports the idea, but does not want to add daily service, and
possible new subsidies, to the state ferry system.
Supporters would like to see twice-daily service, allowing residents to
commute across the water to work and shop.
The Senate is expected to vote on the spending bill, perhaps as early as
this week
Donlin Creek Mine road in congressional
spending measure
The federal spending bill awaiting Congress' approval includes ten
million dollars for a road in Southwest Alaska.
The road would be near the proposed Donlin Creek mine, which sits on a hill
about 12 miles north of Crooked Creek, a village along the hilly central
Kuskokwim River.
The Fairbanks Daily News Miner says the spending bill does not indicate
where the road would be built.
The Alaska House approved a resolution last year calling for a road between
the proposed mine site and Crooked Creek, so supplies could be delivered by
barge and then truck.
A road from Donlin Creek north to the Yukon River village of Ruby also
showed up last year on a list of projects Governor Murkowski's
administration is interested in exploring.
The Donlin Creek deposit is the largest undeveloped gold concentration in
North America.
Alaska history bill sponsor hoping history doesn't repeat
Bethel Representative Mary Kapsner says she'll continue to press for her measure that requires the study of Alaska history as a requirement for earning a high school diploma.
Kapsner says there are many complex issues facing the state right now. By the time, 18 year olds become part of the electorate, she thinks they should have a fair amount of background in the details of some of these issues.
Kapsner says they have addressed various concerns raised by the bill. They include local control and small schools with a limited number of qualified teachers.
Her legislation has passed the House twice, but died in the Senate.
Cabbie punching surgeon offers apology
through attorney
A lawyer for an Anchorage surgeon accused of punching a cab drive and
stealing his taxicab says his client is sorry for his behavior.
Attorney Jim Gilmore says Doctor Bret Mason is a good doctor, and is very
embarrassed by what transpired on January 6th.
The 46-year-old Mason is an orthopedic surgeon licensed since 1991.
He was arrested, along with a physician assistant, after a disturbance
occurred in a taxicab while the two men were on their way to a strip club.
The Anchorage Daily News says Mason's blood alcohol level was later tested
at two-and-half times the legal limit.
Both men were arrested and posted bail soon after their arrests.
Mason is scheduled to appear in court February 4th.
Redington mushes to Klondike 300 win
Ray Redington Junior of Two Rivers braved bitter cold temperatures to win
the Klondike 300 Sled Dog Race. Redington crossed the finish line in Big
Lake at 9-31 this morning. Twenty-three mushers signed up for the Iditarod
Trail Sled Dog Race qualifier.
(Copyright ©2003
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
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