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Assembly denies appeals of
Douglas Breeze In construction permit
The Douglas Breeze In will be allowed to proceed with its' expansion but
without a 5,000 square foot basement storage area.
The Assembly has denied two appeals to the store's conditional use permit
which the Juneau Planning Commission granted in August.
Breeze in owner Al Ahlgren wants to tear down the current 1,975 square-foot
store and replace it with a 5,000 square-foot store, more parking, gasoline
pumps, an automated-teller machine, and a drive-through window.
Ahlgren also wanted to build a 5,000 square-foot basement for storage,
bringing the total footage up to 10,000 square feet.
Community Development Director Dale Pernula ruled that the building permit
allowed a total of 5,000 square feet.
Ahlgren appealed the Director's ruling.
After the Assembly's denial,
Ahlgren said Wednesday he hasn't decided what to do yet.
The Assembly will meet Monday to make their appeal decisions official.
In their decision, the Assembly found that the recently enacted convenience
store ordinance allows no more than 5,000 square feet of floor space in the
building -including storage.
However, the Assembly noted that Breeze In did provide notice to the city,
in their conditional use permit application, that they wanted to build the
storage basement.
The Assembly expressed disappointment that Community Development Departments
staff failed to spot the issue.
The decision states that the oversight caused a significant waste of time
and money for everybody involved.
The Assembly also denied an appeal by Mike and Marilyn Miller and Kim and
Keith Busch, who live near the Douglas Breeze In, who say the Planning
Commission approved an excessive expansion without taking into account
nearby property values and neighborhood safety.
In their decision, the Assembly found the Millers' and the Buschs' did not
meet their burden of proof.
Heavy snow warnings issued for Juneau and nearby areas
The National Weather Service has issued a heavy snow warning for the Juneau area through three Thursday morning.
The expected total accumulation is been reduced from 6 to 12 inches from the earlier forecast of 8 to 16.
Three to six is expected today and a like amount tonight
Chance of snow
is 100 percent, according to the weather service.
Heavy snow warnings are also in effect for Gustavus and Hoonah.
A snow advisory was issued for Angoon.
School bells ring today in Juneau
Juneau Public Schools are open today and
are operating on a regular schedule.
That word from Superintendent Peggy Cowan
early this morning who said parents should make individual decisions regarding their student's attendance and the safety of travel conditions in their neighborhoods.
She says walkways
were open on Riverside Drive and Stephen Richards. There is snow accumulation in Mendenhall Loop bike paths. but they
were passable. Cowan asked parents to advise students to use walkways and stay off the roads.
She says some Special Education buses
were running up to ten minutes late.
School Board discusses budget challenges
The Juneau School Board is beginning the process of tackling the district's budget.
The district is facing $625,000 in cuts to balance next school years' budget.
That's even if the Legislature approves Governor Murkowski's proposed funding increases which, for Juneau, amounts to about 1.5 million dollars per year.
The
district's preliminary budget also assumes the Assembly will fund the district to the new cap which is $891,000 more than last year.
The additional funds would go for increases in salaries health insurance, retirement funds, and new textbooks.
The school district administration's proposed budget cuts include three counseling positions that concentrate on reducing the dropout rate.
At last night's meeting, board member Phyllis Carlson spoke against that recommendation saying counselors address a top district priority that calls for reducing the drop out rate.
Board member Andie Story asked the Board to consider giving the administration direction to put the counselors back in the budget.
Superintendent Peggy Cowan said if the board directs the administration to not cut those positions, than they must also direct them to cut something else.
She says they are legally bound to present the board with a balance budget.
Board Vice President Bob Van Slyke noted the preliminary budget is not locked in.
He said when they get the final funding amount they can decide then if they want counselors or textbooks.
Van Slyke said its too early to refine the budget at this point since they don't know what the funding will be ultimately.
Senate approves bill granting local governments flexibility on special elections
A measure approved by the State Senate today allows local governments more flexibility in when they hold a special election for initiatives and referendums.
Current law requires that a special election be conducted if not regular election occurs within 75 days after certification.
Senate Bill 14 gives municipalities the options of holding the vote at the next regular election; holding it at an already scheduled special election occurring later than 60 days after certification; or ordering a special election if its determined that its in the best interest of the local government.
The sponsor, Kodiak Senator Gary Stevens, says the measure, in addition to adding that flexibility, will save local governments the expense of costly special elections.
The measure was approved 16 to 4 and sent to the House.
Hamilton to address
joint meeting of finance committees
University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton will deliver his annual State of the University address Thursday morning.
It will be presented to a joint meeting of the House and Senate Finance Committees at 9 a.m.
Lawmakers release portion of confidential report on oil and gas
JUNEAU (AP) - Two Alaska lawmakers Tuesday released excerpts from a report that says Alaska is one of the most expensive, but also one of the most profitable, places in the world for the oil and gas industry.
The report by Wood Mackenzie, an Edinburgh-based international consulting firm, compares oil and gas producing areas around the world.
The state purchased a copy of the confidential report for 50-thousand dollars and hired retired petroleum economist Chuck Logsdon to analyze it. Lawmakers say they hope to use the conclusions found in the report to set policy.
Senator Gene Therriault and Representative Ralph Samuels declined to draw any conclusions about the information they released. They say they will withhold comment until Logsdon completes his analysis.
The data shows Alaska ranked 52nd out of 58 global regions in total operating and capital costs for companies doing business in the state.
The rate of return for oil and gas companies in Alaska was high compared with other regions. The state's profitability rate at 14th of the 53 regions analyzed.
State prevails in royalty
lawsuit
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A lawsuit by oil companies claiming they qualified for
lower royalty payments on a North Slope oil reservoir has been resolved in
favor of the state.
The Alaska Supreme Court issued its ruling on the Midnight Sun reservoir
last week.
Assistant Attorney General Leonard Herzog says if the oil companies had
prevailed, the state could have been ordered to reimburse them tens of
millions of dollars in royalty collections.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling and a decision by the state's
Natural Resources commissioner.
The court said Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil and Forest Oil were not entitled
to a discovery royalty rate for drilling into the Midnight Sun reservoir in
19-97.
Regulations designed to encourage oil development provide for a deeply
discounted royalty rate for newly discovered, oil-rich geologic structures.
State officials say the Midnight Sun reservoir was not a new discovery.
Fatal Bethel fire started by candle
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The state Fire Marshal's office says a fire that killed a long-time Bethel nurse started in her bedroom.
Sixty-year-old Ardean Selby was killed six days ago and four others were injured in a fire at an apartment building used to house staff at the Yukon-Delta Regional Hospital.
Fire investigators say Selby lit an ear candle -- a cone-shaped paper and wax device used to clean ears -- and the flame caught her bed on fire and spread to drapes.
A fire extinguisher in Selby's room did not work.
Fire marshal's office spokeswoman Carol Olson says a sprinkler system in the building would have aided in fighting the fire.
Northcutt sentenced in high school sexual abuse case
18 year old Dennis Northcutt will spend six years in
jail for the sexual abuse of a 14 year old girl at the high school last year.
He was sentenced last week to 10 years with four suspended after entering a guilty plea.
The attack occurred May 28th at the Marie Drake Annex.
Northcutt was also directed to pay the victim over $51,000 in medical and counseling costs.
He left Juneau after the attack and was arrested last June in San Diego as he tried to re-enter the country from Mexico.
Ketchikan woman ordered out of child care business
KETCHIKAN (AP) - A 29-year-old Ketchikan woman is out of the child care business after pleading guilty to a drug charge.
Marlena Stump pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in exchange for the dismissal of two other counts.
Police searched her home in August and found unprescribed drugs and three-point-nine grams of marijuana.
Stump had been operating a day care business in the home. She changed her plea in November.
At sentencing last week, Ketchikan Superior Court Judge Michael Thompson gave Stump a three-year suspended imposition of sentence with conditions.
She was ordered to perform 224 hours of community work service and ordered not to work in child care during a three-year probation.
Animal rights group launches new programs to oppose wolf control program
ANCHORAGE (AP) - An animal rights group says it plans to collect 28-thousand pledges this month in support of a tourism boycott protesting Alaska's aerial wolf control program.
Friends of Animals also says it has launched virtual howl-ins to enable supporters to voice their opposition online.
The Connecticut-based group is seeking to have the wolf program -- which is authorized in five areas of the state -- suspended until May 16th when the issue is scheduled for trial.
But a Superior Court judge last week refused to issue a temporary injunction in the matter.
Judge Sharon Gleason said she needed more time to review new concerns raised by the group, which likens to the program to slaughter.
Over the next few months, the state has set a goal of killing as many as 610 wolves.
The goal is to increase the number of harvestable moose.
DOT asks for budget boost of $22 million
JUNEAU (AP) - The state Department of Transportation wants a $22 million boost in its operating budget for the next fiscal year.
Department officials outlined their request to the House Transportation and Public Facilities Finance subcommittee Tuesday. The 407
million dollar request would include nearly 111 million dollars from the state's general fund.
Deputy Commissioner John MacKinnon says Alaska's highway miles have been increasing while funding levels have remained flat for several years.
The request includes 38 new full-time positions and two part-time jobs.
The proposal does not include the department's capital budget request.
Ketchikan bridge project increases by over a third
ANCHORAGE (AP) - State transportation officials have revised an early cost estimate for building two bridges linking Ketchikan to an island holding its airport.
Ketchikan is on Revillagigedo Island. A two-bridge system linking the city to Pennock Island and Gravina Island -- which holds the airport -- is now estimated to cost 315
million dollars, up nearly 37 percent from earlier estimates of 230 million.
Critics have assailed the Gravina project as expensive and unnecessary. In 2003 it was selected for a Golden Fleece Award from the budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Ketchikan residents now reach their airport by ferry. The bridges would allow them to drive to the airport and open up access to Gravina Island.
The project has been a priority for many business and community leaders in Ketchikan.
Labor shortage facing construction industry
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Alaska construction industry leaders say they're facing a severe shortage of laborers as the field grows and an aging work force nears retirement.
And they say construction of a natural gas pipeline and other huge projects in Alaska could further worsen the shortage.
The issue was discussed at a recent construction summit in Anchorage attended by representatives of businesses and trade organizations.
Participants discussed the industry's foreseen labor shortage and framed recommendations for the state labor department's Alaska Workforce Investment Board.
Alaska law pits spiritual rules against worldly rules
JUNEAU (AP) - Some lawmakers want to change a law about transporting dead bodies across Alaska, inspired by one Juneau woman whose religious beliefs ran up against the rule.
The law says that bodies can't cross Alaska state lines unless they have been embalmed. When Sheryl Weinberg's mother Grace died in 2003, that was a problem.
The Weinbergs are Jewish, and Jewish tradition prohibits the dead from being embalmed. The same is true for Islam and some other faiths.
Sheryl Weinberg spent six weeks trying to get a waiver to the rule. She succeeded, and her mother is buried beside her late husband in Arizona.
Weinberg told her story to an aide of Senator Kim Elton of
Juneau, who introduced a bill to strike down the law. Elton and the other sponsors say the rule from territorial days is no longer needed, and it may infringe on religious liberty.
The bill would still require bodies with communicable diseases to be embalmed before entering or leaving Alaska.
Library in Haines borough winds Best Small Library in America award
The Haines Borough Public Library is the winner of the first annual award for the Best Small Library in America.
The award is cosponsored by Library Journal and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The building housing the library was opened in January of 2003.
Library Director Ann Myren credits the library's success to the support of the entire community.
The library receives a $10,000 cash award from the Gates Foundation; and the cost to send two library representatives to the next Public Library Association meeting.
Seekins of Fairbanks top
Quality Dealer in the USA
Fairbanks Senator Ralph Seekins has received a national honor.
Seekins, a car dealer in private life, was honored by the National
Automobile Dealers Association over the weekend in Orlando, Florida.
Fellow Fairbanks Senator Gary Wilken made the announcement during today's
floor session. He revealed that Seekins was awarded the "2005 Time
Magazine Quality Dealer Award."
Sixty five were nominated for award presented jointly by Time Magazine and
Goodyear Tire. Seekins was among the five finalists.
Wilken added that the new chairman of the board for Ford Motor Company
changed his travel arrangements to be in Orlando in order to present the
award to Seekins.
Seekins was also honored by receiving a permanent place in the Automotive
Hall of Fame, the Special Recognition.
U-S Forest Service floats trail plan
KETCHIKAN (AP) - The U-S Forest Service has come up with four potential plans for commercial use of Ketchikan-area trails.
Officials with the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords ranger district say the plans are based on comments received from the public in December.
Officials say they will review the alternatives in the coming month and ask for more public comment.
AkPIRG report says college textbook cost is skyrocketing
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A public advocacy group says the cost of college textbooks is rising too fast and making it difficult for students to afford college.
A report from the Alaska Public Interest Research Group says textbook prices are increasing at more than four times the inflation rate for all finished goods.
The report says wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 19-94.
It says during at the same time prices for all finished goods increased 14 percent.
Research group executive director Steve Cleary says the report is trying to control the problem of students being priced out of college.
A spokeswoman for a leading textbook publishing house disputes the figures.
Wendy Spiegel of Pearson Education tells the Anchorage Daily News that costs are increasing at a rate of about two and a half percent a year, less than half of what Cleary's group says.
RCMP wants to be able to
fine people who urinate in public
DAWSON CITY, Yukon Territory (AP) - Two members of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police have asked for a new bylaw so that people who urinate in
public in Dawson City can be fined.
Sergeant Tim Ashmore and Constable Ryan Hack have written to the local
advisory council suggesting a fine of 50 dollars to 100 dollars might be a
deterrent.
Hack says public urination is unsanitary and it gives visitors a poor image
of Dawson City.
Dawson City in the Yukon Territory is a popular tourist destination in the
summer with its Klondike Gold Rush-era theme attractions.
The council will take up the matter at its next meeting.
Lawsuit filed over expanded
heli-ski permit
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Helicopter-assisted skiing in the Chugach National Forest south of Girdwood is the target of a lawsuit filed this week.
Residents of Moose Pass residents and state and national conservation organizations sued the U-S Forest Service on Tuesday to stop the expansion of helicopter-assisted skiing and snowboarding.
The plaintiffs contend the agency didn't fully analyze the economic, social and environmental impacts before it granted Chugach Powder Guides a five-year permit last fall.
The permit would allow the Girdwood-based business to carry nearly twice as many clients every winter into an area 60 percent larger than in previous seasons.
Moose Pass resident Rick Smerglio says he accepts that
heli-skiing is a legitimate use of a national forest.
But he says he and other plaintiffs want the Forest Service to correctly follow its process.
Resort offers free lift tickets to Washington skiers
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Alyeska Resort in Girdwood is offering free skiing to Washington state residents grounded by a lack of snow.
Resort officials say skiers holding season passes at
snow less Washington resorts will receive free lift tickets if they stay at the nearby Alyeska Prince Hotel.
The deal also applies to snowboarders with season passes.
Officials say reservations must be made while specific Washington state ski areas are closed.
Copyright ©2005 Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
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