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Thumbs down
given to Permanent Fund initiative
The initiative petition seeking to require a statewide vote on any
expenditure of Permanent Fund earnings has been rejected by the state.
Lieutenant Governor Loren Leman said today that a legal opinion from the
Department of Law concludes the petition oversteps the constitutional
limits of initiatives.
The opinion stated that the initiative would require amendments to the
state's Constitution and affect the Legislature's power to appropriate
funds, neither of which is allowed in a ballot initiative.
While the fund's principal cannot be spent without amending the
Constitution, its earnings
are available for appropriation by the Legislature with a simple majority
vote.
Among the sponsors are former Governor Jay Hammond.
Another of the sponsors, Uwe Kalenka of Anchorage,, told us it was
premature for them to comment. They must first review the legal opinion.
Grant made for Southeast
electrical intertie
The Southeast Conference has been awarded a $100,000 federal grant to
update engineering and feasibility studies for the Southeast Intertie
Project.
The first two projects they are working on, according to Southeast
Conference Intertie Coordinator Dave Carlson, are the Juneau--Hawk
Inlet--Hoonah segment and the Petersburg --Kake segment.
Carlson says Hoonah and Kake pay about 35 cents per kilowatt hour for
electricity compared to Juneau's and Petersburg's 10 cent per kilowatt
hour hydro-electric power....
Carlson says the communities they hope to link to the grid are dependent
on fossil fuel and without cheaper power rates economic development cannot
occur.
He says the only thing keeping hydro power from being shared throughout
the region is the lack of a transmission line system.
The grant was awarded by USDA Rural Development.
Alaska Club plans expansion in
Juneau
Expansion plans are in the works for the JRC - Alaska Club location in the
Mendenhall Valley.
Company co-founder and co-owner Tom Behan says those plans include a
swimming pool. The lap swimming pool and water slide would include a large
area where children can learn to swim.
When asked if they hope supplant tentative plans by the City and Borough
of Juneau to construct a swimming pool at Dimond Park, Behan said one of
their hopes is that it would certainly meet the demand for another pool in
the community.
In that regard, he says they would provide access to the public during
certain hours. One idea is forge an agreement with the school district for
its use by students.
Another thought calls for designating hours on the weekend to allow access
by the general public for a small fee without requiring club membership.
The swimming pool is the last of a three phased plan. The other two are
planned this year.
Phase one involves the purchase of a little over three acres of land
adjacent to the club. Part of its use would be to expand the parking
capacity which is presently ongoing.
Phase two is scheduled to commence later this year and involves an
"air" structure which will house two tennis courts. Behan says
the domed structure could be used for multi-purpose opportunities such as
youth camps.
Another part of the second phase is renovation of the current building.
That involves transforming one tennis court into a youth gaming area. That
area will include a basketball and volley ball court and a rock climbing
area.
Popular eatery reopening in Juneau
A popular downtown restaurant will reopen soon after being closed for
about a year.
Bacar's Owner and chef Berry Shaw says they will reopen at a new location
on Seward Street on President's Day, February 17th.
Shaw says he and his wife Carline plan to offer pretty much the same menu
they did for the last ten years.
They closed nine months ago to operate the restaurant aboard the
Inter-Island Ferry running between Prince of Wales Island and Ketchikan.
Shaw says there just wasn't enough passengers to justify a full service
restaurant. But he says it was a fun adventure...
The new space on Seward Street most recently housed the Myriad Cafe. Its
next to the bank there.
Man overboard from Greek container
ship in the Aleutians
Coast Guard rescue crews in western Alaska are searching for a man who may
be overboard from a 900-foot container ship.
The Coast Guard says the 38-year-old Romanian man has been missing since
early this morning from a Greek-flagged vessel, the New York Express. The
ship was near Akutan bound for Seattle.
The captain reported to Coast Guard search and rescue coordinators that
one of his crewmembers apparently fell overboard between four and five
a-m.
The Coast Guard began broadcasting Urgent Marine Information Broadcasts to
mariners in the area, seeking assistance.
The Coast Guard dispatched a Kodiak-based C-130 crew and rescuers aboard a
pre-staged, St. Paul Island Jayhawk helicopter.
The missing mariner is described as thin, tall, mustached and wearing
street clothes. Crewmembers aboard the New York Express reported the
missing man's absence after searching his bunk. The Coast Guard says they
found an unoccupied, bloodstained bed.
Flag song bill moves quickly out
of first committee
A House bill adding a second verse to the Alaska Flag Song passed out of
its original committee of referral this morning. The second verse
recognizes the contributions of Alaska Natives.
Among those offering testimony was retired Juneau judge and former state
lawmaker Tom Stewart who said he was specifically responsible for the
proposal from his work with the Commission on Tolerance in December of
2001. He says the final draft of the commission's report included ten ways
intolerance could be diminished in Alaska. One of those was to include the
second verse whenever the Alaska Flag song is officially used.
House Bill 58 is sponsored this session by Juneau Representative Bruce
Weyhrauch. The committee reported the bill out and sent it to the House
State Affairs Committee.
The bill was introduced in the last Legislature, but did not made it
through the process.
Democrats plan to unveil
permitting legislation
Minority Democrats in the Legislature plan to move ahead with their own
plan for streamlining permitting.
Juneau Representative Beth Kerttula is the minority whip in the House. She
told reporters this morning her caucus decided to be pro-active and come
out with its own ideas.
Part of the Governor's plan calls for moving the permitting function of
the Fish and Game Department's Habitat Division to Natural Resources.
House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz says its too early to pan that idea.
He says he wants to hear more about the Governor's plan first. Kerttula
agreed with that approach and she added that a delay in the issuance of
the executive order may be a good sign. They expected to see the order
last week. She says that may be a sign that the administration is
rethinking the matter and taking a closer look.
Anchorage mayoral race grows
Three more candidates have filed to run for mayor of Anchorage.
Former Democrat candidate for governor Bruce Lemke, former Alaskan
Independence lieutenant governor candidate Daniel DeNardo and political
newcomer Tom Layne have thrown their hats in the ring.
They join current Mayor George Wuerch and former mayor Rick Mystrom.
Former Anchorage Assemblyman Mark Begich is considering a bid. He's
expected to announce his decision next week.
The municipal election is April first.
Oil companies post fourth quarter
earning reports
ConocoPhillips says it lost 410 million dollars in the fourth quarter of
2002. ConocoPhillips is the nation's third-largest oil company. The fourth
quarter of 2002 produced the first results of ConocoPhillips as a combined
company.
Exxon Mobil Corporation has posted a 53 percent increase in fourth-quarter
profit. The company reported a profit of four billion dollars, compared
with two-point-seven billion in the previous year. Exxon Mobil owns 20
percent of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
FAA directive requires additional
scrutiny of Alaska commuter flights
Some passengers traveling on small planes in Alaska will be among those to
be weighed, under a Federal Aviation Administration order.
The agency announced this week that it's trying to determine if the weight
estimates it uses for passengers are accurate. Investigators think weight
may have played a part in the January eighth commuter plane crash in
Charlotte, North Carolina that killed 21 people.
The F-A-A is conducting the weight study nationwide. Three Alaska air
carriers -- PenAir, Frontier, and Era Aviation -- are affected.
Each airline that flies ten-to-19-passenger planes must conduct the survey
during a single Sunday-through-Tuesday period in February.
F-A-A Alaska official Joette Storm says all passengers, carry-ons and bags
must be weighed.
Fish board wraps up Sitka meeting
The Alaska Board of Fisheries has rejected a proposal calling for equal
shares among fishermen in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The
proposal had been endorsed by 41 of the 51 seiners holding Sitka Sound
herring harvest permits. The board wrapped up its week long meeting in
Sitka yesterday.
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News) |
