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Special note: JDHS
Drill Team is winning in Florida.
Latest (01/30/00) results and photos available here.
Mistrial declared in Taplin case
State will ask for new trial
The trial of Joel Taplin has ended in a mistrial. The jury informed Judge Patricia Collins (below, right) at about 1:30 Friday afternoon that they could not agree on a verdict. Judge Collins then declared amistrial. District Attorney Ric Svobodny says the state will seek another trial. A trial setting conference is set for Monday. Meanwhile Judge Collins has released Taplin to the 24-hour custody of his lawyer Louis
Menendez until they return to Juneau. Taplin will then be returned to Jail. Menendez has asked for another bail hearing. The 27 year old Taplin was on trial for manslaughter in connection with the death of Dick Carlson last July 21. The 59 year old biologist was killed when a car allegedly operated by Taplin struck him on Backloop Road near the university campus. At the time of his arrest, police alleged Taplin was drunk. The case was moved to Ketchikan after Judge Patricia Collins ruled that pre-trial publicity prevented the selection of a jury in Juneau. The school teacher from Massachusetts was attending the Bread Loaf School of Literature on the Auke Bay Campus at the time of the incident.
The chief investment officer for the Department of Revenue's Treasury Division is the new executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Robert Storer was chosen over former state Senator Jim Duncan, Goldbelt Incorporated President Joe Beedle and former Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre. Fund Board of Directors Chairman Clark Gruening says Storer was chosen because of his investment experience, his understanding of global financial markets and his familiarity with the fund. Storer was an investment officer for the fund for nine years and served briefly as a trustee. He'll be paid $137,300 a year. He's expected to assume the job in mid-to-late February. Former director Byron Mallott resigned in December to take a job running the AFN Foundation, an arm of the Alaska Federation of Natives.
A power outage knocked the lights off throughout the Juneau-Douglas area Friday night. The electricity went off at about 6:30, caused by a problem with the Snettisham line according to AEL&P 's Peter Bibb. He says something came in contact with the line which tripped relays shutting off the flow of electricity. Diesel generators were fired up and electricity was was back on in most areas by 7:30. Bibb says the diesel generators will stay running all night and an AEL& P crew will fly the Snettisham line at first light to try to discover the problem.
More delays for the big meeting between BP-Amoco and the Federal Trade Commission. The meeting slated for today was pushed back to Monday and then rescheduled again today for Wednesday. At thesame time, BP-Amoco says it has extended its deadline for acquiring Atlantic Richfield. It is apparently trying to give the FTC more time to review the BP's takeover proposal for Arco. BP's deadline had been February 5th, and now it's February 7th. The $27-billion BP-Amoco/Arco deal has been in trouble at the FTC for weeks because of reported concern about its impact on retail competition in the West Coast gasoline market. It's been expected that FTC was going to seek an injunction and try to block the merger in federal court. But BP Amoco's chairman, John Browne, has reportedly made new suggestions to the FTC in recent days in a last-ditch attempt to keep the matter out of court.
Skagway Mayor John Mielke says he plans to run for the State Senate seat being vacated by Jerry Mackie of Craig. The registered Democrat says one reason he's running is to reverse what he believes is a strongly anti-rural bias of the current majority of the legislature. The Senate District includes Kodiak and the so called "Iceworm" District in Southeast which are all considered rural. Mielke is a two term mayor and long time city council member in Skagway and works as the chief mechanical officer for the White Pass Railway. Mielke was born and raised in Juneau and moved to Skagway in 1967 to go to work for White Pass.
Saying Alaska is not sharing the nation's prosperity, US Senator Frank Murkowski told a joint session of the Legislature today that the state needs to seize each and every opportunity to achieve its own Alaskan economic destiny. He recommended extending the Alaska Railroad (right) to Canada and to thenorthwest part of the state and other areas of economic potential. He called for construction of a road and ferry system that's compatible and adequate to the challenges of moving people and commerce. New possibilities for financing a gas pipeline and promoting gas to liquids technology should be explored, according to the Senator. He said that could include state equity participation or participation by foreign nations like Taiwan. He says he will pursue that concept in Taiwan during a trip there in the near future. The Senator also said that Alaska needs to continue efforts to leverage the state's unique position in the crossroads of Asia, Europe and North America.
The business manager of Public Employees Local 71 says ballots on a new contract should go out in the mail next week. Don Valesko says the process will take a month and he expects results the first or second week of March. It calls or pay raises and the state picking up additional health care costs. He believes the pact will be ratified by his 1,500 members and funded by the Legislature. The total cost of the proposed three year contract is $10.4-million with $2.2-million coming in the initial year.
The new head of the State Transportation Department's Southeast Region was queried about the three fast ferries that will be used to help increase Juneau Access and in the Southeast Transportation Plan while a guest on KINY's Capital Chat today. Captain Bob Doll (left), the operations manager of the Marine Highway System until a few days ago, says the vessels will be the first high speed ferries built in the United States. A mono haul and catamaran designs are under consideration. He says a mono haul design provides a better sea keeping capability, but suspects a catamaran design will be the choice because of its fuel economy. As part of the route to Sitka, a Chatham Strait terminal hub will be needed. Angoon is vying to become the hub and Doll said the village is under serious consideration. He says more capability including a repair facility and berth will be needed at Juneau's Auke Bay. Doll says the fast ferry operations will be much like aircraft in that weather will be a determining factor on on when and when not to travel.
The city of Cordova is considering re-zoning a residential area that was flattened by a killer avalanche Wednesday. One woman died and four homes and at least two warehouses were destroyed in the slide. Mayor Ed Zeine says he's looking at possibly condemning the area so no other dwellings are built there. (In photo at right, rescue workers search rubble from destroyed home -- click photo for larger view)
Juneau Police Officer Paul Camolli is a hero. While on routine patrol at about two thismorning, he heard what sounded like a smoke alarm at a residence in the Northwood Apartments in the Lemon Creek area. He broke into the apartment and found a fire on top of the kitchen and a man passed out in the very smoky apartment. The officer dragged the 27 year old man from the apartment to safety and summoned fire department paramedics. The man was treated on scene for minor smoke inhalation. The only damage noted was to the top of the stove.
The Canadian government says the Fraser River salmon fishery is in danger of collapse because of global warming. The report was issued this week by the Climate Change Secretariat. And it predicts a grim future for what many consider the world's most productive sockeye salmon river system.
A federal judge in Seattle says the National Marine Fisheries Service hasn't done enough to determine whether commercial fishing is harming the endangered Stellar sea lion in the North Pacific. Judge Thomas Zilly says the agency will be declared in violation of federal law unless it sorts out the source of the problem.
The Juneau Douglas High School Dance Drill Team is in Orlando, Florida for national championship competition. It's the second year in the row that the team has competed in the national championship. It won the national crown in 1997.
The Juneau Douglas Crimson Bears men are in Sitka for basketball games tonight and tomorrow evening. Tip off on KINY is 8:00pm both nights (listen live here). The women are in Anchorage today for the first round of the East Anchorage Thunderbird Classic.
Cleveland Cavaliers rookie guard Trajan Langdon will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee next week in Los Angeles. The former East Anchorage High star has played in just 10 games this season. While at Duke, Langdon had surgery on his left knee.
Rosie Fletcher of Girdwood fought a heavy snowfall yesterday to place second in the World Cub parallel snow boarding event at Tandadelen, Sweden. Fletcher finished close behind winner Manuela Riegler of Austria and ahead of third-place finisher Isabelle Blance of France. The World Cup event was a makeup of a race originally scheduled for November and postponed because of poor snow conditions.(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
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