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Police
tracking down burglary suspect
Juneau police are looking for a suspect in a string of
burglaries.
So far this month there have been about a dozen
residential burglaries from downtown to about 19 mile of
the Glacier Highway.
Sergeant Paul Hatch says the homes area started during
the daytime hours and homes that are generally hidden
from public view by shrubbery or are not visible from a
public road.
Most of the burglarized homes have been unlocked.
During the investigation, police found that medication,
lap top computers, cash, and easily carried small
electronic devices are being taken.
Witnesses have described a possible suspect as a dark
complected male in his late teens or early twenties,
about five foot nine with a thin to moderate build and
black hair.
After he's spotted by citizens, the suspect leaves the
area without a confrontation
Juneau police are reminding folks to lock your doors
when away and to be alert to suspicions people in your
neighborhoods.
Sergeant Hatch says they are perusing leads in the case
and if you have information you're encouraged to call
the department at 586-0600.
Pardon notification bill clears State House
The first bill of this legislative session, spurred by an action by the former Murkowski Administration, was approved with wide, bi-partisan support in the State House today (Tuesday).
House Bill 69 requires that crime victims and their families be given advance notice of any potential pardons for felons handed down from a governor.
The bills stem from a pardon issued in December from former governor Frank Murkowski.
Murkowski pardoned the company found criminally responsible for the death of Cordova man Gary Stone, but he did so without first notifying the man's five surviving children.
Majority Leader Ralph Samuels of Anchorage is the sponsor of the House measure.
Samuels said the governor is still allowed to issue pardons but would now have to pass a -- quote -- ``red face test'' - unquote.
It enjoyed wide support from both sides of the chamber.
Minority Leader Beth Kerttula speaking for House Democrats said she was glad to see that the first measure of the session enjoyed such bi-partisan support.
The measure was approved on a unanimous 30 to zero vote and sent to the Senate.
A similar measure was introduced by Senate President Lyda Green.
Palin
asks for $12 million to sue former state consultants
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Governor Palin is seeking 12
million dollars from the Legislature to sue a consulting
firm whose advice the state claims contributed to a
multi-billion dollar pension shortfall.
The bill is a result of an investigation initiated last
year into work done by the state's former actuary
company, Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Mercer was replaced as the state's actuary in 2005 by
Buck Consultants, which did a recalculation of Alaska's
pension and health care liabilities.
Buck Consultants found that Mercer had underestimated
medical costs by about seven percent - creating a huge
unfunded liability. That's the gap between the
retirement systems' total assets and the amount in
benefits that would be required to pay all the people in
the system.
A governor's spokesman says this is an important issue,
and there's a lot of money at stake.
Spokesman Charles Fedullo (FUH'-doo-loh) says -- quote
-- ``Mercer failed to warn us about these looming
problems.''
Mercer denies any wrongdoing.
A spokesman says the company advised the state in 2002
that the employer contribution rate would have to be
increased significantly to take factors into account.
However, PERS regulations in place at the time limited
the increases that could be implemented.
Mercer spokesman Charles Salmas says -- quote -- ``It
would appear that the state may attempt to hold Mercer
accountable for market conditions, demographic changes
in Alaska's public employment workforce, benefit
changes, and state of Alaska investment funding policies
over which we did not have any control.''
---
Assistant Attorney General Mike Barnhill declines to say
how much the state is seeking in damages. He says the
department will release more information if and when the
legislature approved the bill.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Update:
Cancelled flights continue to hinder legislative proceedings
For the second day in a row, Alaska Airlines has had trouble getting flights in and out of Juneau due to fog.
Flights 60, 73 and 61 were cancelled this morning. Flight 76 was diverted to Sitka this afternoon. Flight 65 was holding in Petersburg and Flight 64 was in Juneau skies waiting for an opening after two this afternoon.
Some Senate committee meetings were cancelled today due to a lack of a quorum. Its not clear now many members of the upper chamber were unable to get back to town as they had intended Monday.
Assembly
road vote scheduled for Feb. 12
The Assembly has scheduled a debate on a resolution
stating support for building a road up the East side of
Lynn Canal.
Deputy Mayor Merrill Sanford sponsored the resolution at
last night's [Monday] Assembly meeting, citing the goals
and objectives of the Assembly.
Number one, he says is promoting a growing and healthy
economy.
Among many other goals, he added are enhanced road
access, strengthening Juneau as a regional hub and
Capital City and supporting the Kensington Mine project.
Assembly member Bob Doll voiced his opposition to
introducing the resolution saying he has never heard
such a litany of benefits supposedly derived from the
Lynn Canal road.
He said even the state Department of Transportation
doesn't say that the road will contribute to the
economic development of Juneau.
Assembly member Jeff Bush said the Assembly has already
debated the road issue and the resolution won't do any
thing except "scratch some old wounds that continue to
fester in the community."
Assembly member Jonathan Anderson said the road resolution
will distract from other important issues that the
Assembly can actually move forward on.
He said the resolution is moving the Assembly in a
pendulum swing towards more divisiveness which he
regrets.
Voting to schedule the resolution for action were
Sanford, Randy Wanamaker, David Stone, Johan Dybdahl,
and Sara Chambers.
Voting against were Doll, Bush, Anderson and Mayor Bruce
Botelho.
The resolution was set for hearing and action at the
Assembly's February 12 meeting.
The full state project would extend the road from Echo
Cove to just north of the Katzehin River, a distance of
about 51 miles, ending at a ferry terminal.
Ferries would shuttle passengers and vehicles to Skagway
and Haines.
The proposed road will have to end before entering White
Pass National Historic Landmark and the city of Skagway.
The Federal Highway Administration says roads cannot be
constructed through the park because it's protected by
the federal Transportation Act.
Assembly budget
motion calls for examining privatization options
The Assembly has directed the city manager to review the
budgets of city departments for savings and
privatization options.
Deputy Mayor Merrill Sanford offered the motion at last
night's Assembly meeting.
He said he's not picking on any one department. Sanford
added that its a large budget that should be reevaluated in a
timely fashion.
Assembly member Jeff Bush said he supported the motion,
but noted that, in his experience in government,
privatization options are usually notorious failures.
Assembly member Jonathan Anderson said he would like to look
for savings, but they should be careful when considering
cuts to services.
After a brief discussion, Sanford's motion was approved
unanimously.
Assembly actions
noted on a variety of agenda items
The Juneau Assembly last night [Monday] unanimously
approved an appropriation ordinance to fund a new
impound lot adjacent to the Lemon Creek Correctional
Center.
The $470,000 will fund its design and construction and
replace the current lot on leased airport property.
The project includes the construction of a bridge across
Lemon Creek to provide access to the impound lot. It
will also provide access to CBJ property.
CBJ Manager Rod Swope says there's approximately 100,000
acres that contains gravel. In addition, he says there
are good potential uses for the property.
The Assembly approved an ordinance that allows for
reduced property tax assessments and tax refunds for
property losses as the result of a disaster, such as a
fire.
In addition to amending city code, the measure also
specifically gives the owner of the home adjacent to
Holy Trinity tax relief.
The Assembly approved an appropriation ordinance that
would provides $15,000 in state money as partial funding
for a covered playground at Dzantik's Heeni Middle
School.
Swope says the money falls well short of being able to
fully fund the project but will get it started.
The Assembly awarded a bid to Western Shelter Systems
for the purchase of emergency shelters.
The shelters will be purchased with a Homeland Security
Department grant of $563,800
The comprehensive shelter systems will be utilized
throughout Southeast Alaska for emergency incident
disaster response.
The shelters will be pre-staged in Juneau, Ketchikan,
Sitka, Haines/Skagway, Petersburg/ Wrangell, and Klawock
for use anywhere in Southeast.
The shelters can be used as an incident command center,
mass casualty triage, medical isolation or even health
and safety fairs.
And the Assembly approved two resolutions recommended by
the Parks and Recreation Advisory for the naming of two
park areas.
One names the False Outer Point Beach access as the
"Paul Emerson Park."
Emerson, who died in June of 2004 at the age of 84, was
an avid hiker and trail conservationist.
The other resolution names the former Tonsgard property
adjacent to the Boy Scout Trailhead the "Gelsinger
Homestead Park.
It will be named after Chester Gelsinger who donated six
acres of the property to the Forest Service for public
use when the road was extended to the area in the 1930s.
Election by-mail voting ordinance sent back to committee
An ordinance that would allow elections by mail in the City and Borough of Juneau was up for action at Monday night's Assembly meeting, but instead sent back to committee.
City Manager Rod Swope says members felt they needed additional information in terms of how it would work; the implications it might have to voters; and the effect on voter decisions.
So he says the Committee of the Whole will seek answers to the questions of members during a future work session.
Coast
Guardsman cleared in assault case
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) - An Unalaska District Court
magistrate has dismissed felony sexual assault charges
against a member of the U-S Coast Guard.
Magistrate Vincent DiNapoli dismissed the charges
against 24-year-old Freddy L- Lugo.
Lugo was charged with with two felonies for sexual
assault by Unalaska police on New Year's Day.
Prosecutors has said a woman told officers she met a
guardsman at an Unalaska bar, drank and danced with him,
and then left for a hotel room.
The woman told police she was assaulted despite telling
the man to stop.
Charging documents say Lugo denied the accusations and
told officers he had consensual sex with his accuser.
The dismissal was ordered under a speedy trial
protection rule that prevents the state from keeping an
accused person jailed indefinitely while prosecutors
build a case.
Under this rule, if the state arrests a person on felony
charges, the state has ten days to bring the case before
a grand jury and seek an indictment.
Assistant District Attorney Brittany Dunlop says
DiNapoli's dismissal comes ``without prejudice,''
meaning the state can bring charges in the future.
However, she would not say whether the state plans to
seek an indictment.
Tulsequah
Mine developers drop road plan...now propose river barge
A Canadian based company trying to re-open the Tulsequah
Chief Mine has abandoned the road access plan and is now
proposing to use a barge to ship mineral concentrate,
equipment and supplies to and from the mine.
Redfern Resources Limited, a subsidiary of
Vancouver-based Redcorp Ventures, wants to reopen the
dormant mine located in British Colombia along the
Tulsequah River 13 miles upstream of the Taku River, 40
miles northeast of Juneau.
The Taku River crosses into Alaska from Canada and flows
into Taku Inlet 10 miles south of Juneau.
Redfern Monday announced the results of a
feasibility study on the Tulsequah Chief mine
The study recommends using the Taku River as the primary
access and transportation route, eliminating the need
for the construction of a 100 mile long access road from
Atlin, BC, and the trucking of mineral concentrates.
Under the proposed plan, an air cushion barge would be
towed by an amphibious tug, operating year-round on the
Taku River.
Juneau would be the shipping hub for equipment and
supplies.
When the mine is operating, an air cushion barge would
also be used to haul the mineral concentrate from the
mine to Juneau where it would be transferred to a
commercial ocean barge for shipment to Skagway.
From there it would be loaded onto a ship for transport
overseas.
Meanwhile ,the Tulsequah Chief Mine is the subject of a
lawsuit filed against the Canadian Federal government by
environmental groups.
The legal action is mounted by Sierra Legal on behalf of
the Transboundary Watershed Alliance.
The groups maintain that the Canadian federal government
did an inadequate job of protecting both wildlife and
wild salmon in its assessment of the mine.
Coast
Guard aiding drifting vessel
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A disabled cargo ship that was
drifting in the North Pacific today with two injured
crew members on board is continuing to California.
The Coast Guard in Juneau says the ship was able to make
engine repairs and is being allowed to continue to Long
Beach.
The 938-foot Hyundai Confidence ran into trouble about
880 miles south of Kodiak when a crane fell into the
engine while the vessel was being tossed in heavy seas.
The Coast Guard says the injuries to the two crew
members were not considered life-threatening. One of the
crew members has a broken arm and leg, and the other has
a sprained ankle. The ship has its own medical personnel
on board.
The ship was on its way from Busan, Korea, when it ran
into difficulties.
BP tankers back in service following anchor malfunction
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - B-P says it has put a fleet of double-hull tankers back in service after two ships lost their anchors last month in the Gulf of Alaska.
The Alaskan Navigator and the Alaskan Frontier have each been outfitted with two new anchors.
BP spokesman Daren Beaudo says an investigation found the metal in the China-made anchors might not have been properly tempered to strengthen the metal.
Beaudo says the fleet's operator, Alaska Tanker Co. of Beaverton, Ore., flew replacement anchors from the Netherlands to Seattle.
The fleet's four ships were held for repairs.
A San Diego shipyard built the 941-foot tankers for about 250
million dollars each, with the first of them going into service in the summer of 2004.
A Coast Guard statement says Alaska Tanker Co., the Coast Guard and the Washington state Department of Ecology continue to investigate.
Hayes
rejects Governor's call for resignation from university board
FAIRBANKS,
Alaska (AP) - Governor Palin has asked Jim Hayes, who
was indicted this month on federal charges, to give up
his position on the University of Alaska Board of
Regents.
Sharon Leighow, the governor's press
secretary, says Palin made the request during a personal
phone call to Hayes.
Leighow told the Fairbanks
Daily News-Miner that Hayes refused.
Hayes did
not respond to requests for comment.
Hayes, and
his wife, Chris, have been indicted by a federal grand
jury on 92 counts of money laundering, theft and
conspiracy.
The former Fairbanks mayor is one of
eleven university regents.
The governor does not
have the power to remove Hayes.
A regent can only
be removed by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses
of the Legislature.
Several legislators have said
they believe Hayes should consider stepping down, but
stopped short of endorsing official Legislative action.
The
Hayeses are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court
Friday.
Hayes' term on the University of Alaska
Board of Regents ends in 2011.
(Fairbanks Daily
News-Miner)
Services
held Tuesday for soldier killed in Iraq
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Hundreds of family, friends, state
officials and fellow soldiers honored Corporal Jason
Corbett at his funeral and memorial service today
(Tuesday) in Casper, Wyoming.
The service was held two weeks after the Fort
Richardson-based soldier was killed in Iraq.
Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal was among some 300 to
400 people who attended the memorial service.
Soldiers later carried Corbett's flag-draped casket to
the nearby Highland Cemetery where three gun volleys
were fired and taps was played.
Corbett, formerly known as Jason Vantrease, was a 2001
graduate of Casper's Kelly Walsh High School and
attended Casper College before joining the Army in 2004.
He was based at Alaska's Fort Richardson.
He was shipped to Iraq in the fall. On January 15th, he
suffered mortal injuries when his unit came under fire
in Karmah. He'd reached the rank of Specialist, and was
promoted posthumously.
Mourners recalled a young man with a contagious smile
who was proud to serve in the Army.
Corbett's fiancee, Amanda Dodson, recalled their
adventures hunting and fishing in Alaska, where Corbett
had been stationed since November 2004.
She says -- quote -- ``A smile never left his face.''
The two had planned to marry after he returned from
Iraq.
Colletta passes away in Florida
State flags will be flown at half-staff Thursday in memory of former Anchorage State Senator Mike
Colletta.
Colletta died last week in Largo, Florida, at the age of 82.
He served in the State House from 1971 to 1972 and the State Senate
from 1975 to 1982.
He was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1982 when Tom Fink lost the governor's race to Democrat Bill Sheffield.
Colletta owned a janitorial supply business in Anchorage. He retired to Florida in 1993.
Goldbelt
declares Dividend for Shareholders
The Board of Directors of Goldbelt, Incorporated,
Juneau's Urban Village Native Corporation, has announced
it will pay a dividend to its shareholders.
The last
dividend was paid out in 1999.
At it's regular monthly Board meeting held on Saturday,
the Board approved a resolution to pay a dividend of
$1.25 per share to its 3200 shareholders.
For the shareholder who owns 100 shares, that amounts to
$125.
The dividend checks will be mailed out in early
February.
Goldbelt President and CEO J. Gary Droubay says that the
company's income has increased substantially in the last
two years from government contracts that its "8(a)"
companies have with branches of the Federal Government.
In Juneau, Goldbelt owns and operates the Mt Roberts
Tram, the Goldbelt Hotel, Goldbelt Security Services,
and the Seadrome dock facility.
Governor's
jet back on eBay
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The state's controversial
corporate jet is back on Internet auction site
eBay.
It's the fourth attempt to unload the Westwind Two,
which has sat virtually unused since former Governor
Frank Murkowski left office last month.
The third attempt ended Friday evening with the highest
bid at slightly more than one-point-seven million
dollars.
The offers are getting worse.
The second round of bidding ended earlier this month at
just over two million dollars. The state wants about
two-and-a-half million dollars for the jet.
The 23-year-old jet cost the state about two-point-seven
million dollars.
---
But Murkowski bought it against the wishes of many
political leaders, and it became a high-profile campaign
issue during his bid for a second term.
Governor Palin -- who trounced Murkowski in the primary
-- vowed never to use the jet, a promise she has kept.
Murkowski was the last to use the jet. Last month, in
the waning days of being in office, he flew to Texas.
Cruise
line pays large fine, restitution in whale's death
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Princess Cruise Lines was
sentenced yesterday (Monday) for failing to operate one of
its ships in a slow, safe manner near Glacier Bay
National Park where a humpback whale was found dead of
massive skull fractures.
The body of the 45-foot, pregnant humpback whale was
found floating in Icy Strait near the mouth of Glacier
Bay in Southeast Alaska in mid-July 2001.
Humpback whales are an endangered species.
Princess has not acknowledged hitting the whale. But it
has agreed to pay a maximum 200-thousand-dollar fine,
plus 550-thousand dollars in restitution to the National
Park Foundation, with the funds specifically dedicated
to Glacier Bay National Park conservation efforts.
The company paid the money Monday.
The company pleaded guilty to knowingly failing to
operate the cruise ship at a slow, safe speed while near
two whales on July 12th, 2001.
The dead whale was found four days later near the area
where the Dawn Princess had been traveling.
Army meeting on Stryker brigade draws complaints
WAIANAE, Hawaii (AP) - The Army's first attempt to hold a public meeting about the basing of a Stryker brigade in the islands, Alaska or the mainland has suffered a setback.
William Aila and other Hawaiian activists boycotted the gathering last night (Monday), saying the Army was stifling public discussion.
Other activists stayed. But they spent much of the time complaining they weren't being allowed to express their views.
The meeting was held so the Army can prepare an environmental impact statement.
Army officials refused to answer questions posed by residents in front of the others.
Instead, the Army asked community members to submit their questions and concerns in writing, in declarations before one of several court reporters present, or in statements to a video camera.
Coffee
bandit hitting Anchorage coffee stands
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Anchorage police say the coffee
bandit may have hit five coffee stands in the last two
days.
Police are seeking at least one young man in the string
of robberies.
Two coffee stands were robbed on Sunday. That was
followed by three robberies yesterday morning.
The suspect demanded money from the coffee stand
employees, and indicated he had a firearm in his pocket.
Police say the suspect is a white male in his late teens
to mid-20s. He's stands about 5'6'' to 5'9'', and is
described as having a thin build. He was wearing a brown
hooded sweat shirt, and was last seen in a small red or
maroon sedan.
Five
Finger Lighthouse to be depicted on postage stamp
The Juneau Lighthouse Association is planning a
fundraiser later this week in advance of Five Finger
Lighthouse making it on to a postage stamp.
The association's Jennifer Klein says they have received
the official word from the United States Postal Service.
She says they would like to arrange a celebration in
Juneau in conjunction with the local stamp club.
Five Finger will represent Alaska in a series of five
Pacific lighthouses. There will also be lighthouses from
Oregon, Washington, California, and Hawaii depicted in
the series.
Its expected out in June or July, although Klein says
they haven't been given the exact date yet.
She says they received an e-mail one day asking if they
could send a photo the lighthouse since the post office
was thinking of putting it on a stamp.
The promotion of a celebration to mark the event is one
of the areas for which they are fundraising.
They also need funds for operating expenses and to
continue matching a grant.
A Beer and BBQ fundraiser is planned Friday evening at
the Red Dog Saloon from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $25.
There will be a silent auction and Klein says Taxi
Tokens will be available.
Communities
struggle to meet deadline for coastal plans
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Coastal communities may have more
time to revise their plans for managing development
along their coastlines.
A bill that extends the existing Alaska Coastal Zone
Management Program by six months moved out of the Senate
Resources Committee today (Monday).
The overhaul of the program started in 2003. Former
Governor Murkowski say overlapping authorities were
causing permitting delays in coastal development.
The revision took place over the protests of local
communities who said it gutted their role in approving
development projects.
The deadline has been extended two times already. State
officials say six months should be enough time for most
of the 28 communities in the program to finish their
plans.
EPA says settlement reached with seafood processor
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - U-S Environmental Protection Agency officials say they've reached a ten-thousand-500 dollar settlement with a Ninilchik seafood processor.
The E-P-A says Deep Creek Custom Packing violated pollution regulations.
In March 2005 the E-P-A and state Department of Environmental Conservation found permit violations including failure to grind seafood waste into small enough pieces, and unauthorized discharge of seafood waste near a state ``critical habitat'' area.
The case is the latest in a long string of Clean Water Act enforcement actions taken against numerous Alaska fish processors in recent years.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Soldotna asks for disaster relief
KENAI, Alaska (AP) - City officials in Soldotna are requesting a disaster declaration following flooding from the Kenai River.
Mayor Dave Cary says the city has lost at least one
million dollars worth of park property and equipment along the river.
A disaster declaration by the state would allow officials to apply for grants to restore the riverfront park equipment.
Kenai Peninsula Borough officials say the danger isn't over because ice jams are still forming.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is advising residents in affected areas to boil well-drawn water and monitor their septic systems until further notice.
The National Weather Service says the flooding was caused by a glacially dammed lake spilling through Skilak Glacier and Skilak Lake earlier this month.
(Anchorage Daily News)
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