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Arrest made in alleged
knife attack
A man who allegedly threatened people with a knife was arrested late last
night after police were called to a report of a fight on Front Street in
front of the Triangle Bar.
Witnesses said 51 year old Larry McGurgan threatened three people with a
knife.
The man was subdued by one of the people after he waved the knife at them.
When the knife fell to the ground, it was retrieved by a witness who turned
it over to police.
McCurgan was first taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries suffered
when he was subdued.
He was then placed under arrest on three counts of felony assault and lodged
at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
Woman survives fall from
second story of Bergman
Police responded to the Bergman Hotel downtown late Thursday night on a report
that a woman fell from a second story window.
Captain Tom Porter says they were notified just before 11-30. The woman told
police it was an accident. She said she was sitting in the window, loss her
balance, and fell out.
The woman, who was not identified, was taken to the hospital. Captain Porter
says the last they heard her condition was not critical.
The extent of her injuries have not been disclosed.
Swope on Capital Chat
City and Borough of Juneau Manager Rod Swope addressed a wide array of
issues while a guest on KINY's Capital Chat this morning.
They included the hospital board's decision to scale back their Project 2005
development by six and a half million dollars.
Swope said he's pleased with the board's further decision to require the
designers to address them on why their estimates were so far off.
On another topic, some are suggesting the use of the old K-mart building as
a new city hall. Swope's not totally discounting the idea, but he doesn't
think it would be a simple proposition.
He points out that its tied up in bankruptcy litigation which would have to
cleared up first. Secondly, he says it would be a lot of money. He doesn't
know what they would ask, but the property is assessed at over a million
dollars. In addition, the manager says it would take a lot of work to
reconfigure the building. But he said its worth looking at.
Swope said he's told next month's Homeland Security Exercise in Juneau will
begin February19th and last four to five days.
Its his understanding that two other cities, one in Texas and another on the
East Coast, will be part of the exercise that simulates an attack on the
nation.
Most of the exercise will be water borne, and may involve the use of a state
ferry, according to Swope.
Glacier Bay Cruiselines sale completed
The sale of Glacier Bay Cruiselines has been consummated.
The deal was struck between Sunmakers Travel Group and Juneau's urban native
corporation, Goldbelt, last year.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the assets include the line's
three small ships which will continue to operate in Alaska.
The 87-passenger Wilderness Discoverer will operate between Juneau and
Ketchikan, the 69-passenger Wilderness Adventurer between Juneau and Sitka,
and the 31-passenger Wilderness Explorer will continue to ply the waters of
Glacier Bay.
Docks and Harbor Board meeting recapped
Fee increases were before the CBJ Docks and Harbor Board Thursdaynight.
Port Director John Stone says the proposed changes from the panel's Finance
Committee will accepted for public comment. They will come up for action
during a meeting on February 26th. Public comment can be made at that time
or in writing prior to the meeting, according to Stone.
Its proposed to increase the annual moorage fees and electric fees.
Guidelines proposed by staff for implementing downtown loading zones
adjacent to the cruise ship docks were adopted.
Guidelines for commercial use of launch ramps were on the agenda, but were
sent back to the Operations Committee for further work. Stone says the
intent is to bring that back to the full committee by the end of February.
The panel adopted a recommendation calling on the Assembly to pass a
resolution declaring the availability of a tidelands between the Big and
Little Rock Dumps for lease.
The board approved the installation of a log boom break water over Douglas
Harbor which Stone will probably be done within a couple of weeks.
The panel also endorsed a resolution prioritizing federal funding requests
for the Harbors Department.
Compromise reported on
"sweep" of state funds
Republican lawmakers and minority Democrats say they've agreed to restore
more than 80 million to state programs inadvertently cut last session.
It's called the sweep, and it works this way. Without a three-fourths vote
from lawmakers millions left over at the end of the year revert to the
state's reserve account.
What it means for some state agencies is they get a lot less money than they
expected.
The Alaska Marine Highway System lost about nine-point-two million. The
ferry service is months away from being broke.
Tobacco cessation money was also swept, along with a needed upgrade at a
youth detention facility in Nome.
Lawmakers say its an unintended consequence of a partisan impasse and they
want to move quickly to correct it.
Democrat Senator Lyman Hoffman is sponsoring legislation that's got the
support of Senate President Gene Therriault.
Crack down on sex offenders
registration violations underway
Alaska State Troopers are trying to track down hundreds of people who are
not complying with the state's Sex Offender Registry.
Officials said this week that wildlife enforcement officers are doing the
bulk of the work.
State law requires all convicted sex offenders in Alaska to register with
the Department of Public Safety database.
The database is available to the public online, and includes such
information as the offender's photo, home address and place of work.
The Trooper's Greg Wilkinson says at any one time about ten percent of the
45-hundred people on the list is inaccurate, because offenders have not
updated the data as required.
Tests don't detect Agent Orange use in
Alaska
Soil tests indicate that it is unlikely Agent Orange was used in Alaska to
kill vegetation along a petroleum pipeline in the 1960s.
The government has been looking for traces of dioxins in soil along a
pipeline route that ran from Haines to Fairbanks.
But a U-S Army Corps of Engineers report says Agent Orange probably was
never used.
Agent Orange, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War, has been linked to
numerous health problems, including cancer and diabetes in Vietnam veterans,
as well as birth defects in their children.
During the herbicide's manufacturing process, a substance known as dioxin
accidentally formed in some batches. Dioxin is dangerous even in minute
amounts.
Commonwealth North proposes new system of
land mineral management
When it comes to managing the state's land and mineral resources, the group
Commonwealth North says it has a few ideas.
The Anchorage civic group says the state needs to adopt a more businesslike
approach. And it is recommending that a new public corporation, called the
Alaska Land and Natural Resources Management Trust, be created to manage the
resources.
Currently, the state Department of Natural Resources is responsible for
resource development, and regulation and oversight.
State Representative Cheryl Heinze, a member of the Commonwealth group, says
separating the two functions would improve both.
Commonwealth North released its report containing the recommendations
yesterday.
School board in Anchorage signs off on big
cuts
The Anchorage School Board has approved big cuts to make up for a more than
26 (M) million dollar deficit.
The plan will cut 332 jobs. It also means larger class sizes, and bigger
fees for summer school and activities.
Community schools lost all of its budget, 716-thousand dollars.
The deficit is being driven by required contributions to employee retirement
systems, accounting for nearly ten million dollars of the deficit.
And administrators say next year looks much the same, with the school
district facing an estimated 20 million to 22 million dollar
deficit.
Pioneer Alaskan fishermen passes away
Norwegian-born Karl Kaldestad, a pioneer of the Alaska king-crab fishery and
a veteran of World War It's Battle of the Bulge, has died. He was 83.
Karl Kaldestad, who fished in Alaska for 50 years, died of natural causes
last Saturday in Ballard, Washington, three hours after the snow-crab season
closed.
In the 1950s and '60s, Karlestad was among Seattle and Kodiak fishermen who
pioneered the Alaska king-crab fishery.
In 1995, the Kaldestads experienced the first and only tragedy in their
business: the sinking of the Northwest Mariner on the first day of the
snow-crab season, with the loss of all six crew members.
He stopped commercial fishing in Alaska in 1979, when his son took over
day-to-day operations of the family business.
JDHS homecoming starts with
basketball victory
The Juneau Douglas Crimson Bears' women defeated Dimond of Anchorage 49 to
37 as part of homecoming Thursday night. Lathrop is town this
weekend to play the women and men's teams at JDHS.
Tip off for the men's games both nights on KINY is eight o'clock. The women
play at 6:15.
(Copyright ©2004
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
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