Thursday, February 1, 2001 © Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News
Listen Live! | Alaska News | Weather | Sports | Poll | Editorial
Cartoons | Comics | Strange | Home |
Man arrested for sexual assault
Incident occurred early today in Lemon Creek
Juneau Police made an arrest this morning following a report of a sexual assault on a woman at a Davis Avenue address in the Lemon Creek area. The suspect is identified as 28 year old Sonny Cortez. The incident was reported shortly after 2:00 this morning. Cortez was located several hours later and transported to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on a charge of Sexual Assault in the First Degree. Specific details including injuries to the woman have not been released by police at this report. In another case early today, several police units responded to the Glory Hole downtown before 9:00 this morning on reports of a fight. No arrests were made as a man refused to press charges against another man.
January 2001 in Juneau will be remembered for its unusual warm temperatures. That according to National Weather Service Forecaster Bob Shontz who says the average temperature was36.7 degrees. That was 12.5 degrees above normal. He said it was the second warmest January on record exceeded only by 1981 which had an average temperature of 37.6 degrees. He adds that amazingly, the temperature only dropped to 32 degrees or less on 12 of the 31 days. It was over 40 degrees on 21 days. The highest was 52 on the 7th which was the third warmest January day ever in Juneau. Precipitation totaled 7.43 inches. That's nearly 3 inches above normal. The forecaster says a dry day was hard to find. He says only the 11th and 25th were completely dry. Snowfall for the month was only 7.6 inches which is nearly 2 feet below normal. The total for the winter season is a paltry 13.2 inches constituting a record low total through January.
Alaska's mild winter has been no problem for Fairbanks' ice farmers. Crews harvesting ice for the World Ice Art Championships in March say conditions have been excellent for growing the clear, massive blocks used by ice sculptors to produce their work. Organizers expect to cut about 1,500 blocks this year.
Juneau's Eaglecrest Ski Area finally opened for the season this morning. Tom Braton of Eaglecrest called in a live report to KINY Radio this morning and said there was 81 inches on top, but described snow cover at the bottom as "paper thin." The Ptarmigan Chair Lift is the only one operating. He says they need more snow to get the Platter and Hooter lifts operating. The ski area has never opened later than mid-January in the past. The previous record was January 13th.
The state Board of Fisheries has voted down a proposal to cut production of chum salmon by hatcheries in Southeast and Prince William Sound. Representatives of those who harvest wild chum in western Alaska had wanted the board to cut hatchery output. They say the hatcheries have glutted markets and the ocean with chum. But hatchery operators say those complaints are unfounded. DIPAC Executive Director Jon Carter told the Juneau Daily News Online that the proposal would have cut their production by 50 percent and put them out of business. He says the chum are their "money fish" which pays its operating expenses and debt. (In photo, a worker at the DIPAC "egg wash" station)
A moderate earthquake jolted the mid-Aleutians this morning but there were no reports of any damage or injuries. The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says the quake, which occurred at 9:20am, had a preliminary magnitude of 5.8. It was centered about 45 miles southwest of Adak. Officials with the Tsunami Warning Center say the quake was felt sharply in Adak and in Atka, which is about 145 miles northeast of the epicenter.
Governor Knowles filed suit yesterday in federal court against the US Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture over a policy to declare wide areas of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests as roadless. Knowles announced the state's intent to sue earlier this month after former President Clinton approved the policy.
State Troopers are investigating the theft of a pickup owned by the Sealaska Native Corporation from a shop building at the Klawock Airport. Police in the Prince of Wales Island community found the vehicle at the mall in Klawock. The theft was committed on January 15 and the vehicle recovered on January 24th. Anyone with information about this crime are asked to contact State Troopers or Klawock Police or by calling Prince of Wales Crime Line at 907-826-TIPS.
More than half of Americans are concerned that energy problems like those in California could hit their communities. But most oppose exploring for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (left). That's according to a survey by the Associated Press. A majority said higher fuel prices affect them a lot. Six out of ten said they are concerned they could experience problems like the power shortages, price hikes and blackouts in California. Residents of western states were more concerned than those living in the South and Midwest. People were about evenly split on whether the federal government should help California solve its problems. Forty-six percent of those surveyed said they think President Bush can handle the nation's energy problems effectively, while 38 percent think her cannot. Fifty-three percent say they oppose proposals to explore for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Thirty-three percent said they favor exploration in ANWR while 13 percent said they were undecided. The AP poll surveyed 1,033 adults from all states, except Alaska and Hawaii. The survey was conducted from Friday through Tuesday. The results have a margin of error of three percentage points.
Six Alaska Native organizations have received funding from the US Justice Department to help prevent and control youth violence and substance abuse. The Tribal Youth Program funds are to be used for training juvenile court judges, substance abuse counseling and prevention programs and other programs. The Tanana Chiefs Conference received the largest grant -- nearly $499,000. The Southcentral Foundation received $300,000; Cook Inlet Tribal Council was awarded $165,000; the Knik Tribal Council $100,000; the Chugachmiut Native organization received $100,000 and the Hydaburg Cooperative Association got $75,000.
Dozens of state residents are hoping they'll land a job with the new Bush administration. Art Hackney, who co-chaired the Bush campaign in Alaska, says about 25 Alaskans are seeking Washington-based jobs in the new administration. But about twice that many are hoping to get one of the 5 presidentiallyappointed jobs within Alaska. And one of the most sought-after jobs is the one currently held by Democrat Marilyn Heiman as special assistant to the secretary of the interior for Alaska. Among those who've applied are former state House Speaker Ramona Barnes (right). She told the Juneau Daily News Online that she has filled out an application. She said it's her understanding that it's very competitive and that the position will probably be moved to Washington, DC. Other candidates for that position include former Resource Development Council director Becky Gay, former Natural Resources Commissioner Harold Heinze, Anchorage lawyer J.P. Tangen, and Cam Toohey, the executive director of the lobbying group Arctic Power. State Senator Drue Pearce is seeking a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Senator Frank Murkowski is backing her bid.
Student leaders from 16 University of Alaska campuses meet in Juneau for four days starting Saturday. Tia Anderson, the student government president at the Juneau campus of UAS, says their main goal is to lobby lawmakers for the university's $16.9-million budget increase. She says they'll also be bending arms for two projects at the Juneau campus. Those are the Egan Library Classroom addition and and a recreational facility. Before beginning their lobbying, the students will receive training and then conduct a roundtable discussion with about 20 lawmakers from 1:00 to 3:00 Saturday afternoon. The Coalition of Student Leaders will hear an address from University President Mark Hamilton Sunday evening.
Governor Knowles has appointed Diane Heard to the State Board of Education and Early Development. Heard served the last five years as executive director of the Alaska Women's Resource Center in Anchorage. She previously worked as the general manager of KSKA Public Radio in Anchorage. She replaces Senator Bettye Davis who resigned when she announced her candidacy for office last year.
The Juneau Symphony's Spring Concert is Saturday evening. Featured is Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony, according to Music Director Kyle Wiley Pickett (left in photo) on KINY's Capital Chat this morning. Also featured is music by Verdi and violinist Linda Rosenthal (right in photo) playing Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. She calls it a wonderful and delightful challenge. A pre-concert talk by Pickett is planned at 7:00pm. The concert begins at 8:00pm at the Juneau Douglas High School Auditorium. Tickets are available at local book stores and at the door.
(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
Photographers/Public Information Officers:
KINY is actively soliciting photos of timely local news events. Please email us for details.
