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Arctic Winter
Games delegation makes visit after fog delay
A delegation from the Arctic Winter Games competed its visit to Juneau
Sunday after a one day delay.
Fog prevented the delegation's arrival as scheduled on Saturday afternoon.
They arrived at 6:45 Sunday morning.
The delegation was here to assess Juneau's ability to host the games in
2006.
Assembly member Jim Powell, who is spearheading the effort, said the
delegation members commented that they were impressed with the community's
ability to adapt and its spirit.
The group was taken to Eaglecrest, the Treadwell Arena at Savikko Park in
Douglas and the high school gym.
Powell expects a decision on the site of the 2006 games by the end of
February.
If Juneau wins the bid, the games are projected to be held in the second
week of March of 2006.
Fairbanks and Kenai have also submitted bids to host the games that year.
Ceremony planned in Juneau in memory of
civil rights leader
Martin Luther King, Junior Day will be observed in Juneau with a
commemorative celebration this afternoon at Centennial Hall.
It begins at 2 p.m.. The keynote speaker will be Anchorage Senator Bettye
Davis.
Eleven year old Kerwin Washington will recite one of Dr. King's speeches.
Performances by the Alaska Children's Choir and the All Nations Children
Dancers are planned.
Federal, state and city offices and schools are closed in observance of
Martin Luther King, Junior Day.
Lawmakers back in session Tuesday
The first session of the 23rd Alaska State Legislature convenes tomorrow.
Juneau Senator Kim Elton expects a more harmonious legislature, especially
in the Senate. He says that body is now beyond the super majority stage
and is much more evenly balanced. Elton thinks that will force the body
work "in the middle" which he says will be helpful for Alaskans.
Elton believes the focus of the next legislative session will be on
education, but he also expects some surprises to emerge.
Anchorage coastal trail bills pre-filed
in Legislature
Two legislators have filed bills that would give lawmakers the power to
veto any attempt to extend Anchorage's coastal trail through a state
wildlife refuge. Anchorage representatives Norm Rokeberg and Ben Stevens
say they're opposed to having the proposed trail extension follow the Cook
Inlet coastline.
War protests held in Anchorage and
Fairbanks
About 400 people rallied in Anchorage against a possible war with Iraq
Saturday while upwards of a hundred braved chilly weather in Fairbanks to
show their anti-war views. Protests were also planned in other Alaska
communities to coincide with national rallies against invading Iraq.
In Anchorage, about an hour of speeches were followed by a walk to the
Martin Luther King memorial on the Park Strip.
In both Anchorage and Fairbanks, the protests were greeted with a few
jeers.
In Fairbanks, a pair of father-and-son counter protesters stood near the
war protesters holding ``Support the troops'' signs and waving American
flags.
Windy and cold weather in Juneau forecast
Taku winds will start kicking up in the Juneau area late tonight.
That according to Metrologist Julia Ruthford in the Juneau Forecast
Office. She says winds from the north should start picking up this
afternoon and more steadily tonight. She says there will be northeast
winds increasing to 25 miles per hour with gusts to 50 by morning.
They'll pick up even more tomorrow and be in the range of 30 miles per
hour with gusts to 55. The Taku winds are forecast to continue throughout
the week.
The temperature will dip beginning tonight and Ruthford says it will be
cold through Friday. They'll get down to as low as five above zero.
She says that will occur toward the end of the week. Its expected to go as
low as five below in the Valley But the low will be around 20 in the
downtown area because of the wind.
Lows tonight will range from 18 to 28 and from 10 to 20 Tuesday night.
There's a chance of snow in the forecast for Saturday with snow likely
Sunday.
Girl missing in crash of plane in
Washington State
Hope has faded for a girl aboard a small plane that crashed and sank off
the coast of Washington state.
The Coast Guard says her family told rescuers they believe the body of the
nine-year-old is inside the plane.
A Canadian naval ship with sonar arrived at the scene last night. A second
Canadian vessel with a dive team is heading to the scene.
The girl's father, mother and twin sister survived the Saturday crash in
the San Juan Islands. The father is still in a hospital in Bellingham.
ATV driver charged in sled dog collision
Alaska State Troopers have forwarded charges to juvenile authorities
against a 16-year-old who struck a sled dog team with an all-terrain
vehicle over the weekend. The collision occurred Friday night in North
Pole and left one dog dead and two seriously injured. The musher was left
with a broken hand.
Apartment inspections accelerated in
Anchorage
The Anchorage Fire Department has been stepping up inspections of
apartment buildings for fire hazards. Officials say the increased
inspection effort began after a rash of apartment fires about four years
ago. Some of those buildings hadn't been inspected in more than a decade.
Lady Bears hit road following wins on
home court
The Juneau Douglas High School women's basketball team took two games from
Dimond of Anchorage over the weekend on their home court.
They out clawed the Lynn Saturday night 51-40 and 67 to 54 Friday night.
The Bears will be traveling this week, and will play against Chugiak, East
and Colony.
Coach Leslie Knight says they have some kinks to work out yet. She says
they weren't great on defense against Dimond, but they will spend a couple
of days working on that prior to hitting the road.
With the two wins over the weekend, the Bears' record now improves to 5
and 3. The coach points out that its 5 and 1 if you only count in-state
teams.
Kings finish first and last in Kusko mush
The Kings of Denali Park opened and closed the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog
Race.
While Jeff King won the K-300 yesterday to claim the 20-thousand dollar
first prize, King's daughter Cali finished this morning at 5-30 a-m to
claim the Red Lantern given to the last musher in.
Cali King is 18 and ran the Kusko as a qualifying race for her first
Iditarod in March.
Swingley nixes Yukon Quest run
Four-time Iditarod champion Doug Swingley has dropped out of this year's
Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. The Montana musher says there are
too many uncertainties with the race. Swingley says he plans to try the
Quest next year.
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News) |
