Juneau Daily News Online

Wednesday, January 26, 2000  ©  Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News

Local assault victim dies
  Suspects are charged with murder
Thirty-six year old Kenneth Thomas is dead following the beating he took yesterday morning at a residence in the Indian Village in Juneau. He was pronounced dead at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage this afternoon, according to Juneau Police. The two men arrested for the beating and robbery of two other men at a residence in the Indian Village Tuesday morning now face Second Degree Murder charges. 33 year old Ronald Edward Smith and 20 year old Ray Joel Soto are also charged with Robbery, and First Degree Assault. Bail for Smith has been set at $750,000, Soto at $500,000. The other victim of the attack is a 27 year old man who was admitted to Bartlett Regional Hospital with a dislocated shoulder and multiple head lacerations. His identity has not been released, but we have learned that he is Thomas' brother.

One killed, one missing in avalanche near Cordova
State Troopers say the body of a woman has been found in a home crushed by this morning's powerful avalanche in Cordova. Trooper official Greg Wilkinson says 63-year-old Martha Quales was found dead in her flattened house. Missing is 50-year-old Jerry LeMaster, who lived with Quales at Mile 5 of the Copper River Highway. Wilkinson says another person was recovered uninjured from another demolished home. A trooper at the scene says more than a dozen buildings were hit by the half-mile-wide snow slide, which occurred shortly before 10:00am. Witnesses say the avalanche covered the highway with as much as 15 feet of heavy snow in places. It occurred in an area where the road runs along a narrow shelf between the steep slopes of Mount Eccles and Eyak Lake (On map at right, red arrow indicates approximate location of avalanche). Dozens of people are probing the avalanche remnants for LeMaster, troopers say, and city crews are at the scene with front-end loaders and backhoes. Wilkinson said troopers will try to bring rescue personnel and search dogs to Cordova to help at the avalanche site. But bad weather is keeping planes from landing in Cordova today.

PEL71, state reach tentative contract
Negotiators for the state and the 1,500 workers represented by the Public Employees Local 71 have hammered out a tentative contract. The three year pact calls for a $1,200 lump sum payment on July 31 of this year; a two percent increase on July 1 of next year and then another three percent on July 1, 2002. Employees with 15 years of service would also receive an additional bonus to Step E if they've been at Step D for two years. That's another three percent increase. The state's contribution to each employee's health insurance increases by $20 this year and next and another $40 in the third year. The pact includes no wage reopeners. The agreement is subject to an employee ratification vote and legislative approval. Majority lawmakers have refused to fund negotiated settlements in the past and legislative leaders have told us that funding doesn't look good for this session. The total cost of the proposed contract is $10.4-million with $2.2-million coming in the initial year. Administration Commissioner Bob Poe says Local 71 agreement is the basic framework in discussions with the state's other bargaining units.

Knowles announces school construction package
Governor Knowles unveiled a $510-billion school construction and major maintenance plan in Anchorage today. It includes funding for 40 new schools or expansion projects. Juneau's proposed new high school, which is tied to state funding, is not on that list. But Budget Director Annalee McConnell (left) says the project is eligible for school debt reimbursement for school districts like Juneau which have a bonding capacity. A total of $90-million is available in that pot of money. That program calls for a 70 percent state reimbursement. McConnell says nine Juneau projects are on the major maintenance list which the Governor wants funded over three years. Funding for three roof projects would come in the first year. Funding for the six other projects come in the second year and range from several renovation projects at the existing high school and Floyd Dryden Middle School and the heating system at Gastineau Elementary. Juneau School District Superintendent Gary Bader says he's delighted to hear that those major maintenance projects made the list. He's hopeful the new high school can be funded under terms of the state's school debt reimbursement program.

Elton says IRS should be happy with Mackie Plan
Juneau Senator Kim Elton (right) pronounced his positions on a number of issues facing lawmakers this legislative session while a guest on KINY's Capital Chat this morning. He doesn't favor the plan put forth by Craig Senator Jerry Mackie that calls for ending the Permanent Fund Dividend Program after issuing a final check for $25,000. He figures those who support the program are Internal Revenue Service Agents since the federal government would get a good chunk of the special dividend distribution. Elton unveiled his own fiscal plan earlier this week. It calls for increased taxes on alcohol, a higher corporate tax for oil companies, and the use of no more than 20 percent of Permanent Fund earnings for general government support. On another matter, Elton supports the Governor's decision to use fast ferries to increase access to Juneau since it can be done in a matter of three years rather than waiting for a road to be built which could take a decade or more. He said the decision is also an easier pill for the communities of Haines and Skagway to swallow since they opposed the road option. He appreciated the Governor leaving a decision on the road open for later consideration.

FTC plans plans merger meeting this week
The Legislature's special committee examining BP-Amoco's proposed takeover of Arco plans to wait for the Federal Trade Commission to act before taking a formal position on the deal. Anti-trust experts hired by the Special Joint Committee on Mergers have already opposed the agreement Governor Knowles made with BP-Amoco in exchange for the state's support of the merger. Democratic Representative Beth Kerttula of Juneau opposes the proposed takeover. Kerttula said during the committee's meeting yesterday that she'd like the committee to take a stronger stance. But committee chair Rick Halford says that agreement's dead with the commission anyway. The FTC has scheduled a closed-door meeting for Friday where it may approve filing a federal lawsuit to block the proposed takeover.

BP shareholders want ANWR, Northstar stopped
Over a hundred BP Amoco shareholders filed a resolution in London today that would force the company to put its Arctic Oil expansion plans to a shareholders vote. The resolution calls for the company to cancel its Northstar project in the Arctic Ocean and stop lobbying to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Pointing to increased threats from global warming and oil exploration, the shareholders want the company to pursue solar energy market opportunities they say are now opening up. One of the organizers of the shareholder effort is Greenpeace. The vote will come at the company's annual general meeting on April 13th. (In photo at left, Greenpeace demonstration which accompanied the shareholder resolution signing)

Arrests made in Anchorage murder
Two men have been arrested in the robbery and fatal shooting of a Anchorage Wendy's restaurant night manager. Police say 18-year-old Omelette Muasau and 18-year-old Jeremy S. Palmer, two former Wendy's employees, are being held in the shooting death of 31-year-old Dianne Rostron early yesterday.

Airline posts 4Q loss
Alaska Air Group says it's in good shape for the coming year, despite higher costs. The Seattle-based owner of Alaska and Horizon airlines reported that quarterly income was down $17-million from the year before. But 1999 earnings were a record $134-million.

State to receive heating bill assistance funds
Emergency money is headed to Alaska to help residents who are having trouble paying their heating bills. President Clinton (right) yesterday released millions of dollars in emergency fuel funds. About $2.5-million is targeted for Alaska. President Clinton delivers his State of the Union Address tomorrow night. The administration's FY2000 budget had proposed using the social security surplus for other programs. No way for next fiscal year, says Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, who Chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Senator says the spending of the Social Security surplus will not happen on as watch as Appropriations Chair. Congressional Budget Office figures reveal a budget surplus of $23-billion which doesn't include the Social Security surplus.

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