Juneau Daily News Online

Wednesday, February 2, 2000  ©  Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News

FTC nixes BP merger
  Will go to court to stop it
The Federal Trade Commission moved today to block BP-Amoco's takeover of Arco. The federal agency rejected the merger and told its staff to ask the courts to block the $27-billion deal. The FTC voted 3 to 2 to seek a court injunction against the merger. The joint legislative committee on the merger plans to meet tomorrow to discuss the commission's action. Much of the negative discussion surrounding the merger is centered not on the Alaska oil fields, but on the high cost of gasoline in California. Officials there fear that the merger would mean even higher pump prices.

Phillips tries session move again
Eagle River Senator Randy Phillips (right) plans another effort to move legislative sessions out of the Capital. His plan is to amend a proposed constitutional amendment pending in the Senate Finance Committee that calls for limiting sessions to 75 days. His amendment calls for moving sessions to Anchorage. Phillips forced a vote on the legislative session move on the Senate floor a few years ago but fell short in that effort.

Flags lowered for victims of 261
Governor Knowles is ordering state flags to be lowered to half staff through Monday in memory of the victims of Alaska Airlines flight 261. The jetliner crashed last Monday afternoon off the California coast with 83 passengers and 5 crew members on board. At least 5 Alaskans are known to have been on board the flight. Among the victims were Morris and Thelma Thompson of Fairbanks, Thompson's daughter Sheryl of Valdez and Malcolm Branson and Janice Stokes of Ketchikan. The Coast Guard ended the search for survivors today and declared that it is now classified as a recovery effort.

Another MD-80 suffers mechanical problems
An American Airlines MD-80 (like the one at left) made an emergency landing in Phoenix today after reporting a possible stabilizer problem. The pilot reported the problem about 20 minutes after taking off for Dallas. The plane turned around and landed safely at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. There were no injuries. The American jet is part of the same series of McDonnell-Douglas planes as the Alaska Airlines plane that went down off the coast of California Monday. That aircraft reportedly had problems with its horizontal stabilizer, which controls the pitch of the nose.

AEL&P finds cause of outage
Alaska Electric Light and Power crews have discovered the likely cause of last Friday's areawide power outage. One of three lines that carry electricity from Snettisham across Limestone Inlet was discovered to be severed on Saturday. The line has several high visibility orange balls placed on them to alert helicopter pilots flying through the area. Peter Bibb of Alaska Electric, Light and Power says it appears that through the years, winds had buffeted and rotated the ball, eventually cutting through the cable. He says another ball on the line was taken off and inspected and crews found that the cable had been noticeably scored. As a result, all the balls will now be inspected. Meanwhile, crews spent yesterday day splicing together the conductor cable. Bibb says if all goes smoothly Snettisham should be back on line by tonight or tomorrow afternoon. Diesel turbines have been suppling power since Friday evening.

New bill would reinstate RIP
Legislation reinstating the Retirement Incentive Program for public employees was introduced in both the House and Senate today. The bills are sponsored by members of Juneau's delegation, Senator Kim Elton and Representative Beth Kerttula. Kerttula (right), who was a guest on KINY's Capital Chat this morning, said the program must show a cost savings. The Juneau lawmakers says previous programs saved over $41-million since Fiscal Year 97. The program they propose this time around could be used at any time, rather than being limited to a 3-year period as with past RIPs.

Hamilton will argue for increased UA funding
University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton is scheduled to address a joint meeting of the Finance Committees tomorrow morning in an effort to win approval of a $16.9-million increase for next fiscal year. The increase was inserted by Governor Knowles into his proposed budget. Hamilton's going to tell the lawmakers that the university will need another $100-million over the next 5 years.

Taplin bail hearing delayed
Today's bail hearing for Joel Taplin was continued in Juneau Superior Court until tomorrow morning. The 27 year old Taplin is charged with felony manslaughter stemming from the July death of biologist Richard Harry Carlson. At today's hearing, defense attorneys proposed releasing Taplin to his parents on the east coast or to a local resident. Judge Patricia Collins said she would consider releasing Taplin to his parents if they moved to Alaska and established an address. His first trial in Ketchikan ended in a hung jury last week. The retrial is scheduled to begin May 1 in Ketchikan again.

Cruise lines bid for control of NCL
Carnival Corporation and Star Cruises have agreed to pursue a joint takeover of Norwegian Cruise Lines. The move could end the bidding war for the world's fourth-largest cruise line. Miami-based Carnival says it's withdrawing its $1.3-billion bid in favor of the $1.1-billion offer being made by Star Cruises of Malaysia. The Norwegian company has had no comment so far on the turn of events. But one of the company's largest shareholders says the battle isn't over and other bidders for Norwegian are being sought. Both Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines operate tours to Alaska. Star is Asia's largest cruise line.

Mediator to facilitate state talks with ASEA
As the state's largest public employees union prepares for a possible strike with training sessions scheduled across the state, Administration Commissioner Bob Poe says the state plans to work with a federal mediator when those talks start up next week. He's hopeful there will be what he termed a "reasonable discussion about where things are going." He says the Alaska State Employees Association is asking for well over twice of what the state is offering and the Commissioner says there's no way the state can go there. Federal mediation is scheduled to begin February 7. The union called for mediation after declaring impasse in talks last month. A majority of union members voted last fall for a strike if talks fail ultimately or if the Legislature refuses to fund a negotiated settlement.

Drill team in top five at nationals
The Juneau Douglas High School Dance and Drill Team (right) nailed two high finishes in national competition in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend. The squad placed fourth in the pom routine out of a field of 130 teams and third out of 135 teams in the large varsity jazz category. To view a series of photos of the team in Florida, click here.

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