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Felled tree causes
power
outage
A tree that fell across power lines above Gastineau Avenue caused
about a power outage this afternoon. (Thursday)
The tree had been cut down by a crew contracted by Alaska Electric
Light and Power to clear the electrical right-of-way above
Gastineau Avenue.
AEL&P's Gayle Wood says the tree and brush crew specializes in
clearing electrical right-of-ways and has a solid reputation.
Wood says a tree falling in an unexpected direction has happened
before with AEL&P crews.
She says tree cutting and clearing is "partially art and partially
science."
Wood apologized for
the outage on behalf of AEL&P.
The electricity went out just before 3 p.m. and was restored to
most of Juneau by 3-29 p.m. and to all AEL&P customers just
after 4 p.m.
Brief power outage
interrupts Alaska Legislature
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) A brief power outage in Alaska's capital
city Thursday afternoon halted business in the Legislature for the
first time in at least 23 years.
That's according to building manager Don Johnston.
He says the Capitol has backup generators but shut them off
because of a coolant hose failure.
He says that's the first time that's happened in his 23-year
tenure.
A sweet, hoppy smell from the coolant wafted on the ground floor.
Legislators, aides and others walked cautiously through darkened
hallways, using cell phones as a light source.
Business was on hold for about 30 minutes late in the afternoon
before power was restored.
Arizona man
charged with sexual assault
An Arizona man, currently living in Juneau, has been arrested and
charged with sexual assault.
21-year-old Dominic Merrill is charged with 1st degree sexual
assault, an unclassified felony with a maximum penalty of 99 years
in prison.
A third person contacted the Juneau Police Department on Monday to
report that a 21-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted.
According to police, on Saturday, January 23rd, the woman was at a
social gathering when Merrill asked her for help getting
home.
Merrill and the woman were acquaintances and lived in the same
apartment complex.
When they arrived at his apartment, Merrill allegedly would not
allow her to leave and he proceeded to physically and sexually
assault her.
Merrill was arrested this (Thursday) afternoon and lodged at Lemon
Creek Correctional Center without bail.
State
retirement files possibly breached, protections steps taken
There's been a potential security breach involving state
retirement information.
Governor Sean Parnell told reporters at a press conference this
morning (Thursday) that the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers lost data
containing personal information for about 77,000 former and
current public employees.
The governor says quick action has been taken and measures put in
place to protect those who might be affected by the potential
breach.
The missing data
includes names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.
Although there's no evidence that any identity thefts have occurred, Parnell
said their number one priority is to protect Alaskans and to arm
them with good information so they can take steps to protect
themselves.
Attorney General Dan Sullivan said the state has reached a
settlement with the company.
He says the company has accepted responsibility for the breach and
have agreed to protect Alaskans by paying for credit monitoring and ID theft protection or a security
freeze.
In addition, the company has agreed to reimburse Alaskans for any
losses they may incur as the result of identity theft that was
caused by the breach.
The company has also agreed to pay up to $100,000 for the cost of
notifying affected people.
The compromised information was originally maintained by Mercer,
the former actuary for the state, who provided financial
projections for the retirement systems.
The state is suing Mercer in connection with the services it had
previously provided the state.
The law firm representing the state requested the Mercer
projections as part of the discovery process and then turned it
over to PricewaterhouseCoopers. It was in early December when the
company discovered the information was missing. The state
was notified until last week.
The Department of Administration is preparing notices that will go
out to affected individuals with information on how to obtain the
protections outlined in the settlement.
Wounded Anchorage
officer still in pain
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The Anchorage police officer ambushed
while sitting in his cruiser earlier this month says he's making
progress but still in extreme pain.
Officer Jason Allen spoke to reporters Thursday from his hospital
bed. He was shot five times Jan. 9 as he was sitting in his patrol
car filling out paperwork.
The assailant has not been apprehended.
The 47-year-old Allen has undergone five surgeries for wounds to
his torso and arms. He says it's a miracle he's alive.
He says some days are better than others, but he believes he is
making progress despite the pain. He's not sure when he will be
released from the hospital.
He declined to speak about his injuries or the night of the
shooting.
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Information from: KTUU-TV
Urologist
from Oregon to set up practice in Juneau
A new urologist has been found to serve Juneau and Southeast
Alaska.
Bartlett Regional Hospital CEO Shawn Morrow said on KINY's Capital
Chat this morning that Dr. Mike Saltzman will establish a private
firm here with assistance from the hospital.
He's coming from Hood River, Oregon, and is expected to be here by
mid-March.
Morrow says Dr. Salzman's offices will be located where Dr.
Michael Singsass is now.
Dr. Singsass is affiliated with Alaska Urological Associates of
Anchorage which decided to scale back its services to outlying
clinics due to economic conditions.
North Slope oil
spill reported
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) A North Slope oil spill has been
reported from the same pipeline that froze and ruptured in
November.
Steve Rinehart, a spokesman for Lisburne oil field operator BP
Exploration, says the new leak reported Wednesday is estimated at
less than one barrel, which consists of 42 gallons.
The November leak involved 46,000 gallons of crude oil and oil
water.
Rinehart says the new leak had stopped by the time it was
discovered at an elevated section of the 18-inch flowline during a
regular inspection. It splattered over a 2,000-square-foot area,
landing on the edge of a nearby drill pad and the tundra below it.
Rinehart says the spill occurred in the out-of-service line more
than a mile east of the site of the Nov. 29 leak.\
The cause of the latest leak is unknown.
A cleanup plan is being finalized.
Congressional
delegation comments on President's speech
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said the president connected with
the American people on the issues of jobs, the economy and
congressional spending.
Murkowski said the real question is whether or not the
administration has really pivoted to those issues or if it's more
of a rhetorical pivot.
Senator Mark Begich said President Obama struck the right tone
between optimism about America's future and determination about
the enormous challenges the country faces, many of which he
inherited.
Begich said as he should have, the President spent the most time
addressing plans to help create jobs for Americans and get the
economy back on track.
Alaska Congressman Don Young said he was pleased to see President
Obama reach across the aisle in the speech.
Young said if the President is serious about moving the country
forward with Congress help, he needs to practice the
bipartisanship he preaches.
Alaska
Airlines turns profit for last quarter and all of 2009
ATLANTA (AP) The company that owns Alaska Airlines reports a
$24 million quarterly profit compared with a $75 Million loss for
the same period last year.
And, Seattle-based Alaska Air Group reports quarterly revenue
increased more than 2 percent to $846 Million.
Net income for all of 2009 was pegged at $121.6 Million which
compares to the $135.9 Million loss in 2008.
Alaska Air Group Chair and CEO Bill Ayer attributed the turnaround
to enhanced performance and lower fuel costs.
Hartig defends
ouster of scientist
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska's environmental conservation
commissioner is defending a decision to kick scientist and clean
water advocate Gershon Cohen off an advisory panel on cruise ship
wastewater discharge.
Six Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday urged the governor to
reinstate Cohen, saying he's qualified to serve on the board and
that they were worried his ouster stemmed from pressure exerted by
the cruise ship industry.
On Wednesday, Commissioner Larry Hartig acknowledged hearing
concerns from within the industry about whether Cohen could be
unbiased.
Hartig said he admires Cohen's commitment to clean water issues
but that question should have been looked at before Cohen's
appointment.
Senator Dyson
released from hospital and back to work
State Senator Fred Dyson returned to work today (Thursday) following his
release from Juneau's hospital last
night after being admitted there early Wednesday morning.
During a press
availability with the Senate Minority this morning, the
Eagle River Republican told reporters apparently there was a
problem with medicine he started taking after recent oral surgery that
conflicted with other medicine he takes.
Dyson says he's being
carefully monitored now while he adjusts to the medicine.
Docks and Harbors Board takes up
several fee proposals
The Docks and Harbors Board of Directors has several items up for
action at its meeting tonight. (Thursday)
The panel will be taking up an amendment to the passenger for hire
fee regulations.
The $1.10 per passenger fee apply to people who conduct day tours
that originate at CBJ harbors.
Port Director John Stone says the board is proposing to take the
CBJ harbors' passenger for hire fees and make them the same at the
two downtown docks.
Under the proposal, the fee would also apply to day tours that
originate at the downtown port.
The regulations will go out for public comment for the next month.
Another proposed amendment has to do with live-aboard fees.
That fee is currently $69 per month per vessel for an
unlimited number of people using the boat as a residence.
Stone says the board is proposing that the number of people at
that $69 fee be limited to three per vessel.
Under the proposal, each additional person would pay $23 a
month.
Stone says the board, as a matter of equity, wants a fee structure
that reflects the costs associated with the number of people on
the boat and their use of harbor facilities.
Those regulations also go out for public comment for the next
month.
Another item up for action is the yearly moorage rate consumer
price index adjustment.
Stone says the adjustment is based on the Anchorage CPI of 1 point
2 percept.
The board is proposing to increase moorage fees for the next year
which starts July 1st, by a little over one percent.
A bid for replacement of the North Douglas launch ramp boarding
floats is up for action.
The low bid was submitted by Alpine Lumber of Salem, Oregon, at
$69,777. The engineer's estimate was $100,000.
Stone says if the bid is awarded, the company has until June 1st
to deliver the new floats.
The Port Engineer will be making a presentation on the preferred
alternative on reconfiguring the visitor center parking lot and
the Columbia parking lot adjacent to the cruise ship terminal on
South Franklin Street.
The Docks and Harbors Board meets at 7 tonight in the Assembly
Chambers at City Hall.
Agency files notice of beluga
whale recovery plan
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) A federal agency is filing official
notice that it intends to prepare a recovery plan for Cook Inlet
beluga whales.
The notice is being published Thursday in the Federal Register.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible for coming up
with a recovery plan now that the animals have been listed as
endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
The notice also is an appeal for information. The ESA requires
that the public have the opportunity to provide comment as the
recovery plan is being developed.
There used to be more than a thousand of the white whales in Cook
Inlet but numbers have dwindled to a few hundred animals.
Bill filed
in State House addresses Cook Inlet designation for belugas
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) State Rep. Charisse Millett of Anchorage
has introduced a resolution opposing the designation of Cook Inlet
as critical habitat for beluga whales.
She told KTUU that meeting new environmental regulations would
disrupt shipping at the Port of Anchorage and harm Southcentral
Alaska's economy.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is preparing a recovery plan
for the endangered belugas.
Men charged in
caribou killings
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Three Delta Junction men are accused of
illegally killing a dozen caribou along the Denali Highway.
Thirty-year-old Vladimir Doroshuk, 29-year-old Andrey Medyanikov
and 43-year-old Grigoriy Rybak are charged with unlawful
possession and transportation of illegally taken game. They also
are charged with taking caribou in an area in which they were not
permitted.
Doroshuk also is charged with other offenses including wanton
waste.
Alaska State Troopers say the men killed 11 bull caribou and one
cow a half mile or more outside the federal subsistence area in
December.
According to troopers, the cow carcass was dragged from the kill
site and buried in snow, then left to waste.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Education
chief defends merit-based scholarship proposal
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) State Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux
is defending the governor's merit-based scholarship plan. LeDoux
says the scholarships should encourage students to aim high.
Some lawmakers have questioned whether the plan should also be
broadened to include not only good students but also those who
need help paying for college.
In a House Education Committee hearing Wednesday,
Anchorage Rep. Berta Gardner said a merit-only approach may create
a lost opportunity, because many families would pay for an
education on their own.
Governor Sean Parnell wants college and vocational scholarships
for high school graduates who complete a rigorous course schedule
with at least a C+ average.
Investment earnings from a $400 million set-aside of state
reserves would pay for the program.
Ellis wants
alcohol tax funds to aid treatment
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) All alcohol tax revenue would go toward
drug treatment and prevention programs in Alaska under a bill
proposed by Senate Majority Leader Johnny Ellis.
According to Ellis' office, the state receives about $40 million a
year from excise taxes and currently half the revenue goes toward
substance abuse treatment and prevention programs.
Ellis has given Gov. Sean Parnell credit for wanting to crack down
on domestic violence and sexual assault in the state.
But the Anchorage Democrat also has been among the lawmakers
calling for greater attention to substance abuse issues which they
believe often help fuel the violence.
California
man cops pleas in Juneau District Court to fraudulent residency
claims
A California man's claim to residency for obtaining Alaska fishing
and hunting licenses led to an investigation leading to charges
for unlawfully obtaining a Permanent Fund Dividend.
According to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers released
Wednesday, 58 year old Ronald Pelissier pled guilty in Juneau
District Court earlier this month to two of six misdemeanor
charges of unsworn falsification concerning his fishing and
hunting licenses.
He was fined $20,000 and given 360 days in jail with all suspended.
He has also pled guilty to one count of unsworn falsification and
one count of theft in the third degree concerning his Permanent
Fund Dividend applications.
He was sentenced to 480 days in jail with all but 60 days suspended. He
was also ordered by the court to pay restitution of $1,654.80 and
his prohibited from ever applying for a dividend again.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers charged Pelissier last August in the
Yakutat area.
Investigation revealed that he had obtained resident hunting and
fishing licenses between 2003 and 2008, but that he did not meet
residency requirements.
That spurred a probe by the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Fraud
Investigation Unit which found he was also claiming residency to
claim dividends.
Search for missing crewman
suspended
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) The Coast Guard has suspended its search
for a 26-year-old man who reportedly fell from a container ship
south of Adak Island into 20-foot seas.
The Coast Guard says it suspended its aerial search shortly after
3 p.m. Wednesday after covering almost 900 nautical miles. No
signs of the man were found.
The Coast Guard was notified Tuesday night that one of the crew
was missing.
The container ship also issued a call for help from any vessels in
the area.
The 792-foot Cap Gilbert is a Liberia-flagged vessel sailing from
Ningbo, China, to Manzino, Mexico.
The crew member is from Myanmar, also called Burma.
Gang member convicted in
Fairbanks shooting
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) A Fairbanks jury has convicted a
23-year-old man for his role in a 2008 gang-related shooting.
The jury returned guilty verdicts Wednesday against Arron Young on
three counts of attempted murder and six counts of weapons
misconduct.
Prosecutors say Young, a member of the Crips street gang, took
part in the shooting in which multiple shots were fired from one
car at another as the two vehicles raced down College Road.
No one was injured, but witnesses say stray bullets came within
inches of several bystanders.
Prosecutors say the incident followed weeks of violent outbursts
between members of the Crips and their gang rivals, the Bloods.
Young's attorney, Jennifer Hite, argued that he had been
misidentified by witnesses.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Halibut commission decision due
Friday
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska fishermen are waiting to hear the
International Pacific Halibut Commission's final decision on the
size of this year's commercial harvest.
A recommendation issued in December would cut the amount of
halibut that Southeast Alaska fishermen could catch this year by
26 percent over 2009
Fish Board hears testimony
on Yukon kings
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) The Alaska Board of Fisheries has heard
impassioned testimony from fishermen about Yukon River king
salmon, the state's largest subsistence fishery.
A standing-room-only crowd of about 150 greeted the board Tuesday
on the first day of a six-day meeting in Fairbanks.
People living on the upper river are arguing for proposals to get
more and larger fish on spawning grounds, while those from the
lower river want to reject the same proposals.
Both sides say their subsistence way of life is threatened if the
changes are or aren't made.
Those issues have been debated for years, but have gained
importance because of three consecutive weak chinook runs that
resulted in severe restrictions this season.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Lawsuit filed over AK
refinery contamination
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) A North Pole man has sued the current
and former owners of the Flint Hills oil refinery, saying a
chemical from the refinery damaged public water supplies.
James West filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court in
Fairbanks against Flint Hills Resources LLC, which has owned the
refinery since 2004, and Williams Alaska Petroleum Inc., which
previously owned the plant.
The suit contends sulfolane from the refinery damaged the water
supply, posing a risk to health and hurting property values.
Flint Hills official Jeff Cook told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
that he could not comment on the suit because he had not yet seen
it.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Count of homeless conducted
in Alaska's largest city
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Volunteers checked snow-covered tents
in wooded areas of Anchorage during the city's annual count of the
homeless.
The homeless also were counted yesterday at missions and shelters.
The Anchorage Daily News reports most of the homeless about
775 showed up at the Egan Civic Center for the Project
Homeless Connect program.
It offers help with housing, health care and even a hair cut. The
final homeless count will take several weeks to compile.
Bachmann may not give tea party
speech after all, Palin will speak
WASHINGTON (AP) The National Tea Party Convention scheduled
for next month may be losing one of its star speakers.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is scheduled to speak February 5
to the group of grass-roots political activists meeting in
Nashville.
The Republican House member says she is re-evaluating her decision
to go because of conflicting information about whether she would
be violating congressional ethics rules.
Bachmann says she would be happy to be a part of the gathering but
adds that "it may not be possible."
She says she has yet to make a decision.
The tea party event is organized as a for-profit venture by
Tennessee lawyer Judson Phillips.
Tickets for the keynote speech by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
cost $349.
State announces parks photo
contest
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Alaska officials are holding a state
parks photo contest.
The contest by the state Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation
is being held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the division
and the establishment of Chilkat, Kachemak Bay, Chugach and Denali
state parks.
Officials say entries should be images of any state park.
Six winning photos will be used to create anniversary posters to
be distributed throughout Alaska.
The deadline for the contest is March 1.
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On the Net:
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/photocontest.htm
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