JUNEAU DAILY NEWS MINUTE

By Chris Burns - kiny@ptialaska.net

Wednesday, January 31, 1996 (c) Alaska Juneau Communications
*Contract talks resume tomorrow between the Juneau School District and its teachers. Official negotiations began on January 19th and several issues have been discussed so far. However, the two sides remain a long ways apart on salaries. The Juneau Education Association is asking for a 2-percent raise, while the District wants a rollback of 6-percent. J.E.A. President Bob Deitrick (DEE-trick) remains hopeful that a fair and equitable settlement can be reached.
*The Coast Guard says it has received a request from a local marine cargo company to break ice in Gastineau Channel north of the Douglas Bridge. But, the only Coast Guard boats available in the area to do the job are buoy tenders which won't fit under the bridge.
*Fish and Game officials are beginning to worry about the cold weather's effect on future salmon runs. Some local streams are frozen to the bottom which can cause high mortality of eggs and fry. Coho are of particular concern because they spend up to 2 years of their early life stages in fresh water. A high kill rate could cause smaller returns for several years to come.
*The Alaska Salmon Coalition is collecting data on chinook salmon in Southeast to provide the state with additional clout as it continues a federal court battle over allocations. The coalition has also hired a Juneau attorney to help administer its legal fund of $60,000. The money came from 5 Southeast communities, including Juneau.
*Alaska Senate Minority Leader Jim Duncan of Juneau has introduced legislation to make health care available to all Alaskans. The so-called single-payer plan would give the state authority to contract or directly pay for health plans based on market forces. A high percentage of Alaskans do not have access to primary health care.
*The first major statewide communications and technology conference begins in Juneau's Centennial Hall tomorrow. Comtech '96 has drawn a wide variety of state and national computer and communications companies for the 3-day event. Workshops and demonstrations will be held on everything from creating web pages to video conferencing.
*Dairy products quite familiar to people in most of Alaska have finally made it to Juneau. Matanuska Maid Dairy of Anchorage says it is now offering its milk, cottage cheese and sour cream products at Carr's. A spokeswoman for the dairy says it was unable to deliver to Juneau in the past because it could not afford to ship products here and then pay to ship empty cargo containers back to Anchorage. Through a deal worked out with Carr-Gottstein, the dairy now ships the containers to Juneau, Carr's unloads them, then refills them with items it sends to Seattle.