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Meeting to
discuss salmon industry problems scheduled in Juneau
A "Salmon for Success Summit" is planned as part of next week's
Southeast Conference meeting in Juneau.
It is sponsored by the Tlingit Haida Central Council and the Southeast
Intertribal Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Conference organizers were guests on KINY's Capital Chat this morning.
The council's Gordon Jackson says the state should make a commitment of
additional money for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. He added that
commitment needs to happen this year. He also said that other commitments
need to be made to quality control, resolving transportation issues
throughout the state, and developing value added products.
Bob Loescher, who joined Jackson on the program, and said Alaskans have to
pull together right now and thinks the summit will help do that.
The conference begins Monday and runs through next Wednesday at the Alaska
Native Brotherhood Hall.
Halibut commissioners to meet in
Capital City
The International Pacific Halibut Commission will hold its annual meeting
in Juneau next year.
That word comes from the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Commissioners and staff from the United States and Canada will address
strategic halibut fishing issues affecting both countries.
The talks, scheduled between January 20th and 23rd of 2004, will attract
between 175 to 225 people. JCVB estimates the meeting will generate an
economic impact for Juneau of about $150,000.
Salmon fixing court case still in
jury selection phase
Jury selection continued today in Anchorage in a case that charges Bristol
Bay seafood processors and buyers with price-fixing.
The class-action lawsuit, filed by Bristol Bay fishermen, charges
processors conspired to fix prices in the early 1990s. Processors have
denied the allegations and say prices were set by the demand for sockeye
in Japan.
Because there are dozens of lawyers in the case, the courtroom where the
trial is being heard has been expanded, at a cost of 22-thousand dollars.
In addition, the room has been wired for laptop computers and a big screen
and projection system have been set up for exhibits.
The state paid for a portion of the renovation, while lawyers for both
sides also paid for some of the modifications.
Opening arguments are expected to begin tomorrow. The trial is expected to
last two or three months.
Fire Marshall job doused by Waters
CBJ Fire Marshall Randy Waters has resigned.
Manager John MacKinnon was able to confirm that tip that came into our
newsroom today.
Waters reportedly resigned to take a job with the U. S. Customs Service
which will require him to move from the community. The location of his new
job was not immediately known. One source indicates its Ketchikan.
MacKinnon says Rich Etheridge will serve as Acting Fire Marshall until the
position is filled by a permanent replacement.
School board to receive report on
student achievement
The Juneau School Board receives its annual report on student achievement
during its regularly scheduled meeting tonight.
Superintendent Peggy Cowen says the report looks back at last year. It
addresses how students performed in reading, writing and math and what
focus should be emphasized in the future. The report also looks at the
results of a newly required state test, the Terra Nova, and how it
compares with other assessments.
The board will also discuss student expulsion, suspension, and
representation on the school board.
The meeting starts at 6 at the district offices on Glacier Avenue.
Parks and Recreation panel to
receive updates
The CBJ Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meets this evening.
There are no items up for action, although Parks and Recreation Director
Kim Kiefer says there are important informational items on the agenda.
One is a proposal for an underwater enhancement project at Sunshine Cove.
Kiefer says the plan calls for sinking a 40 foot boat in the cove to try
and encourage underwater animal growth so fish will come in and provide a
good place for scuba diving.
An update on the planning process for parklands in the Amalga area is also
on the agenda. The next meeting is planned on the matter is this Thursday
evening. Kiefer says it will be a joint meeting with State parks
officials. In addition to CBJ land, there is state property in the area.
Kiefer says they want to devise a plan that manages the property together.
This evening's meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 in Assembly Chambers.
Thursday night's joint meeting is from 5:30 to 8 in Conference Room 224 at
City Hall.
Silver Bay opts for bankruptcy
Southeast Alaska's largest logging company is filing for Chapter Eleven
bankruptcy protection while it reorganizes.
Wrangell-based Silver Bay Logging cites depressed lumber prices and
increased costs of harvesting federal timber as the reasons. The filing
will free it from the threat of creditors' lawsuits while it reorganizes.
Company President Dick Buhler says that under current plans, Silver Bay
will continue to run its Wrangell sawmill.
He says there's enough value in the company's assets to pay their debts,
but more time is needed in what he called today's miserable economic
conditions to liquidate them.
Buhler says the recession has made it very difficult to find buyers for
their surplus real estate, aircraft and logging equipment.
He says the company plans to operate next season starting late this month.
He says the volume planned will provide jobs for more than 200 employees
in the logging, sawmill, marine and aviation operations at Silver Bay.
Selawik snowmachiner subject of
search
A search is under way for a man missing since Thursday from the northwest
Alaska village of Selawik.
Troopers say 25-year-old Tim Snyder had been drinking and took off on a
snowmachine. He was not wearing any heavy clothing and it's not known in
which direction he was headed.
A search was launched Friday. Searchers from the villages of Selawik,
Noorvik, Kiana, Kotzebue, Ambler and Kobuk are assisting with the search.
Troopers say there's been a significant amount of new snow in recent days
that's covered up snowmachine tracks, making the search more difficult.
Move afoot to organize university
workers
A group has launched an effort to unionize most of the remaining non-union
workers at the University of Alaska.
The group calls itself University of Alaska Staff United. It's
coordinating a card-signing campaign among administrative and technical
support workers. The university has about 22-hundred non unionized support
workers statewide.
Steve Bouta, the group's chair, says the group hopes to get at least 50
percent of employees to sign the cards requesting a union vote. After
that, they'll ask the Alaska Labor Relations Agency hold a vote on the
issue.
This is the second time this group of employees has attempted to unionize.
The last effort, in the late 1990's, failed.
Rampart road
revisited by state transportation planners
The state Department of Transportation is taking another look at a
long-discussed proposal to build a road to the Yukon River village of
Rampart. The 25-mile road would link the village to the Elliott Highway.
Currently, there's a rough trail along the route. Rampart has about 20
year-round residents.
Death of pets under investigation
in Kenai Peninsula town
Soldotna pet owners and veterinarians are wondering if recent dog
poisonings in one area of the city are intentional or accidental.
Veterinarian Tabitha Perkovich says she aware of seven to eight dogs
poisoned by antifreeze. The automotive additive is a suspect in at least
two other dog illnesses.
Wolf relocation project apparently
a success
Federal wildlife managers are about to declare victory in a 17 (m)
million-dollar effort to restore the gray wolf in the Northwest.
The wolf, once driven to near-extinction, is swarming over the Northwest
in numbers not seen in a century. So the Fish and Wildlife Service will
reduce the level of protection that allowed the wolves to rebuild stable
populations.
The change would downgrade the wolf's classification under the Endangered
Species Act from ``endangered'' to ``threatened.''
The animals would still be protected. But the reclassification would,
among other things, let ranchers kill wolves caught attacking their
livestock. Conservationists fear the federal move will lead to the wolves'
numbers dropping off again.
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News) |
