Grounded tanker is refloated in Cook Inlet
NIKISKI, Alaska (AP) - The high tide this morning lifted a fuel tanker that was grounded in Cook Inlet.

Three tug boats were on hand to help free the Seabulk Pride, which was grounded on the Kenai Peninsula near Nikiski.

Tesoro spokesman Kip Knudson says the tugs were able to pull the ship free and bring it to deeper water, where officials are now going over it to make sure it is safe.

Knudson says there is NO indication the ship has leaked any fuel.

The 575-foot Seabulk Pride was knocked from its mooring Thursday at the Kenai Pipeline dock by a fast-moving ice floe.

It ran aground on a beach about 200 yards away.

The vessel is under contract to Tesoro Alaska, which has a refinery at Nikiski.

About 75 gallons of petroleum products being loaded onto the tanker spilled into Cook Inlet.

The tanker is carrying several kinds of petroleum products including nearly 95-thousand barrels of a thick residual oil.

Tanker grounding raises standby tug question
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The grounding of the tanker Seabulk Pride is raising some questions on whether powerful tugs should be on standby in Cook Inlet.

Several such tugs are on duty in Prince William Sound. Their job is to escort tankers picking up North Slope crude oil at Valdez. The move to put tugs in Prince William Sound grew out of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.

Cook Inlet does not have nearly the same level of tanker traffic as the Sound. But commercial fishermen, environmentalists and others have argued the Inlet also needs tugs.

One of the big issues has been cost. Members of a task force say a powerful tug could cost thousands a day for the industry to lease.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Oil tax sponsors score a victory, but bills' future is uncertain
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The House Ways and Means Committee today (Friday) moved two bills that would increase taxes against the oil industry.

It was a victory for the minority Democratic sponsors of the bills, but both measures could be blocked further along the process.

A bill by Democratic Representatives Harry Crawford and Eric Croft of Anchorage would tax companies that hold natural gas leases but fail to ship the gas to market.

The second bill, co-written by Representative Les Gara and Senator Hollis French would scrap the state's oil production tax. It would be replaced with a progressive tax where the oil industry pays more when the price of oil is above 20 dollars a barrel and less when it falls below 16 dollars.
---

The bills next go to the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas. The chairman of that committee, Representative Vic Kohring says he is reluctant to approve any oil tax increase.

Crawford, Croft and Representative David Guttenberg are sponsoring a ballot initiative that, if approved by voters, would have the same effect as the gas reserves tax bill.

The Division of Elections is certifying signatures to place the initiative on November's ballot.

Lawmakers consider stricter ID standards
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Legislature is considering new requirements for obtaining a driver's license.

Proposed legislation would require proof of citizenship or legal residence in the United States to get an Alaska license.

A new federal law is pushing the effort.

If Alaska doesn't impose such a requirement, residents eventually won't be able to use their Alaska licenses to board an airplane or enter a federal courthouse.

Congress's Real ID Act passed last summer created a set of minimum standards for driver's licenses and state-issued identification cards.

If states don't comply by 2008, their licenses won't be accepted as federal identification.

Duane Bannock is director of the Division of Motor Vehicles.

He says Alaska is not far away from 100-percent compliance.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Woman suffers minor injuries when pickup runs into pole
A pickup smacked in to a telephone pole on Glacier Highway near Davis Avenue this morning. (Friday).

Police Sergeant Ed Mercer says they got the call at about 6:42.

When officers arrived, they found a 1993 Dodge pickup with extensive front end damage in a ditch along the side of the road.

The driver, a 24 year old woman, was inside the pickup.

She told officers she struck her head on the dashboard. Capital City Fire Rescue took her to the hospital..

The sergeant says their investigation revealed the driver fell asleep while traveling inbound on Glacier. Her pickup veered off the roadway, down a ditch and struck the pole.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was released later from the hospital. She was cited for reckless driving, failure to carry and show proof of insurance, and not wearing a seatbelt.

Her name was not released.

The pickup was totaled. There was about a thousand dollars damage done to the telephone pole.

Woman arrested at Juneau jail as she waits for friend to be released
Juneau Police ended up with two birds with one stone this morning.

A suspected drunk driver, 32 year old Travis C. Lemon, was carted off to jail shortly after one. He was processed and released on his own recognizance.

About an hour after his arrest, 29 year old Ashley L. Likins showed up in a cab to pick him up at the jail.

She was recognized  by police who discovered she was wanted on an outstanding $250 warrant for concealment of merchandise and violating conditions of release.

Likins was arrested while she was sitting in the cab waiting for Lemons and  escorted to jail.

There's no word if Lemons took the same cab home.

Jury watches as Waterman grilled by police
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A Juneau jury watched four hours of videotape  Thursday, the police interrogations of Rachelle Waterman the week after her mother was murdered.

The Craig teenager is standing trial for murder and conspiracy in the November 2004 death of her mother, 48-year-old Lauri Waterman.

The prosecution says the teen plotted with two former boyfriends, Jason Arrant and Brian Radel, to have her mother killed while she was away.

Police questioned Waterman in two separate interviews.

They started gently at first but grilled her hard once Arrant and Radel had confessed.

Waterman told police she knew of the plot but did nothing to stop it.

Earlier in the trial, defense attorney Steven Wells tried unsuccessfully to quash Waterman's statements to police.

He says they were obtained through manipulation and duress.

There's no court proceedings today. (Friday) The trial resumes Monday.

Juneau Access final EIS released
The Alaska Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Juneau Access Improvements Project.

The preferred alternative is a road up the east side of Lynn Canal to Katzehin about 50 miles north of Juneau and about 18 miles from Skagway.

Shuttles will ferry vehicles and passengers to Haines and Skagway.

The proposed road will have to end before entering White Pass National Historic Landmark and Skagway.

The Highway Administration says roads cannot be constructed through the park because it's protected by the federal Transportation Act.

The original project, a road connecting Juneau and Skagway, was estimated to cost about 300 million dollars.

DOT officials say a shorter road will cut the cost by about 50 million dollars.

The Highway Administration will issue a Record of Decision 30 days after publication of the notice in the Federal Register.

The decision will summarize any mitigation measures that will be incorporated into the project.

Barrow virtually close to shut down because of cold
BARROW, Alaska (AP) - The nation's farthest north town was virtually shut down today (Friday) as morning temperatures dipped to 55 degrees below zero.

The North Slope Borough School District closed all schools in Barrow and Wainwright for the day. However, school officials invited residents to stop in at the Wainwright school to warm up.

North Slope Borough employees only had essential employees at work. Other nearby villages and cities also have closed for the day.

The morning temperature of minus 55 was just one degree from Barrow's all-time low of minus 56 degrees, set in 1924.

A seven mile per hour wind coming out of the southeast made it seem like it was minus 79 today in Barrow.
(Thanks Earl Finkler, KBRW, Barrow) 

New Stuyahok is laying off workers
NEW STUYAHOK, Alaska (AP) - The city of New Stuyahok is laying off workers and going to a skeleton crew.

City administrator Mitch Chocknok says the city council decided yesterday (Thursday) it was time to lay off workers. The main reason, according to Chocknok, is the cost of insurance:

Chocknok says the city will lay off its heavy equipment operator, its city clerk, it's maintenance worker and two alternate water sewer workers.

They'll keep on the mayor and a water and sewer worker. Chocknok will get to keep his job but at half time.

He says the city runs on about ten-thousand dollars a month, but the last time he went to make payroll he had only one hundred dollars left in the city's account.

Chocknok says where people are likely to notice the difference is the lack of maintenance of the city roads and the dump.

But he says the effects of the layoffs will be felt throughout the village.

At times the council has employed up to 30 part-time and full-time workers. And he says people really need the income to pay for high fuel prices in the freezing weather.

Chocknok is hoping the Legislature will start helping the cities:

Chocknok says in the meantime he'll be looking for another part time job and possibly for work outside of New Stuyahok, just as several other families have recently done.

New Stuyahok, a village of about 500 people, is about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage.
(Thanks Johanna, KDLG, Dillingham) 

Jobs cuts proposed to deal with Anchorage school budget
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Anchorage School Board unanimously approved a budget for the next school year that closes a two (M) million dollar deficit.

The budget does that by raising fees and cutting positions -- including eliminating some middle school teachers and counselors and a quarter of kindergarten aides.

The 607 (M) million dollar budget includes funding for transportation, food, grant-based projects and general operations.

The school district originally faced a deficit of about 30 (M) million dollars. But the state plans to increase its education funding -- which reduced the district's gap to a couple of million dollars.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Craig fisherman reflects on rescue
SITKA, Alaska (AP) - A Craig salmon fisherman says he's sorry to lose his 50-foot troller but happy to be rescued.

The Coast Guard on Tuesday plucked 56-year-old skipper John Cessnun out of the sea as his vessel sank near Cape Decision 80 miles south of Sitka.

Cessnun was the only one on board. He was not injured.

The Coast Guard says Cessnun was well prepared and had practiced evacuation skills.

Cessnun was fishing for winter king salmon in Chatham (CHAT'-am) Strait when he heard a radio advisory for rough weather.

As he headed back to Craig in ten-foot seas, a wave that may have contained a log crashed through the hull, creating a six-foot hole in two planks.
---
Cessnun says pumps on the boat failed and he was forced into his survival suit and a life raft.

A Coast Guard helicopter left Sitka a half hour after receiving the distress call.

A rescue swimmer helped Cessnun into a basket and he was pulled to safety.
(Sitka Sentinel)

Northern Air Cargo sold to Pacific Northwest company
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A Seattle-area company is taking over one of the largest airfreight and mail carriers flying within Alaska.

Saltchuk Resources is buying Anchorage-based Northern Air Cargo Incorporated.

Saltchuk Resources is a privately held company that owns Totem Ocean Trailer Express.

Totem is one of two major at-sea shippers that carry groceries, building materials and other products from Tacoma to Anchorage.

Northern Air Cargo was ranked as the 36th largest Alaskan-owned, Alaska-based company last fall by Alaska Business Monthly magazine.

The company has annual revenue exceeding 50 million dollars.

A state Department of Labor listing last summer ranked the company as Alaska's 96th largest private employer.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Lady Bears win another, men travel to Ketchikan
The Lady Crimson Bears grabbed another road win last night.

They defeated Colony 45 to 41.

The Bears return to Wasilla tonight where they claimed an overtime victory Wednesday night.

The men's team is at Ketchikan tonight and Saturday.

Tip off on KINY both nights is 8 p.m.