Tuesday, February 6, 2001 © Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News
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School calendar to finalized tonight
JSB has full agenda for meeting
Final action on the school calendar for next year tops the Juneau School Board's agenda tonight. Superintendent Gary Bader says the board will be consideringfour different approaches. The proposed start dates range from August 22nd to the 27th. The starting date has proved to be the most contentious part of the debate. The proposed contract for administrators is up for approval. Bader says a 3 percent payment is scheduled this year as part of the 3 year pact. A new salary schedule will be put into place in the second and third years which includes 3 percent longevity increments. The board is also scheduled to announce its intent on the usage of the site on Glacier Avenue where the Marine Highway Administrative Building is now located. The site may be transferred to the district as soon as October. Bader says the primary interest is including a general use play field area on the site. Bader says the play field would be at least minimum size. That's 310 by 170 feet. The meeting begins at 6:00pm in the District Office Board Room on Glacier Avenue.
The Assembly went into executive session last night to talk about pull tabs. Members discussed with City Attorney John Corso a resolution urging the legislature to improve it's pull tab regulation system by utilizing a protest procedure system similar to the one used for alcohol licenses. The related ordinance amending the CBJ Sales Tax Code is set for public hearing at the Assembly's next meeting February 26th. It requires those wishing to contest their sales tax liability to pay first under protest, and then file the appeal. Last week, retired Supreme Court Justice Jay Rabinowitz ruled that local pull tab operators should pay a 1 percent sales tax on gross receipts. Rabinowitz granted the city's request for a summary judgment for payment of about $900,000 in back taxes. The pull tab operators can appeal the Superior Court decision to the State Supreme Court.
Juneau's flightseeing operators could get a tax break for investing in technology that would make their aircraft quieter. The Assembly's Planning and Policy Committee yesterday asked city staff to draft an ordinance that would provide those tax incentives, according to Committee Chair Jim Powell. As anexample, if a helicopter flight operator had a choice between an $800,000 helicopter and a helicopter utilizing new quiet technology costing $1.8-million, Powell say the Assembly would consider not taxing the additional investment. Powell says quieter helicopters and float planes are only a partial answer to flightseeing noise. He says the just completed flightseeing noise study recommends alternative heliports. Meanwhile, Powell says a request for proposal for a long range Juneau tourism plan went out yesterday. He says there's about $100,000 budgeted to pay for the plan.
The H&H building site on the hill adjacent to South Franklin Street has stabilized. That according to CBJ Engineering Director John Stone. Over the course of a couple of days, Stone says there might be an eighth of an inch of vertical movement, compared to last month's movement of several inches per week. He says an engineering consultant determined that the movement was caused by de-watering when the site was excavated. The hillside is now secured by a temporary, 20 feet deep sheet pile steel retaining wall which is anchored into bedrock. Construction of a permanent concrete retaining wall is expected to begin this week.
There's progress to report on the fast ferry contract and work on the Columbia from Alaska Marine Highway General Manager George Capacci (left) who was a guest on Capital Chat this morning. He saysthe list of prospective bidders for the fast ferry between Juneau and Sitka has been narrowed to two. Those shipyards are R. E. Derecktor of Mamaroneck, New York, and Nichols Brothers Boatbuilding of Whidbey Island, Washington. Capacci says both have teamed with foreign manufacturers who have built fast ferries around the world. He explains that one of the basic stipulations for bidders was that they had to have a design that's proven around the world. Capacci says the goal is to award the contact no later than May 1st. The plan calls for the fast ferry to go into service during the summer of 2003. Meanwhile, the Columbia, which suffered an electrical switchboard fire last summer, is at the shipyard in Ketchikan. Capacci said part of the work calls for a complete refurbishment of the cabins on the 100 and 200 decks. In addition, all the electrical wiring and switchboards have been removed.
A woman was killed in a house fire in Eagle Village over the weekend. Authorities say the body of 41-year-old Debbie Stevens was found a few feet from the door of her home. The woman was alone in the house when the fire broke out Saturday night. Stevens' death was the second in less than two weeks at the village, which is located alongside the Yukon River, about 380 road miles east of Fairbanks. Alaska State Troopers say Norman David was found dead in the woods between Long Lake and Eagle Village on January 23rd. He died from exposure after getting lost while walking home from a village outing.
A Ford Pickup was involved in a one vehicle accident at about 6:30 last night as it was traveling outbound on Egan Drive near Aurora Harbor. Police say the pickup apparently crossed the median into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck the guard rail. Sergeant Troy Wilson said it appears the accident was due to a medical problem the man was having at the time of the accident. He was taken to the hospital for observation. The pickup sustained about $2,000 damage.
The Assembly approved a resolution last night encouraging local businesses and residents to purchase wild salmon products instead of farmed salmon TheAssembly adopted another resolution calling for support of a Southeast Alaska Trail System. The Seatrails mission is to facilitate the planning, construction and maintenance of a region wide trail system. Local communities will determine what trails they want to include in the Seatrail system.
The Eaglecrest Board of Directors holds its regularly monthly meeting tonight. The Board will receive un update on season pass credits and refunds and will discuss the potential of commercial trail use. The panel will also discuss a conditional use permit for the Upper Rock Quarry that 's scheduled to go before the Planning Commission February 13th. The Board also receives an an update on the land exchange that's proposed for the Lower Fish Creek Road. The Eaglecrest Board meets tonight at 5:30pm in the large conference room at the downtown Library. Meanwhile, the ski area is closed today and tomorrow, but reopens with limited snow cover on Thursday.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meets this evening to take up the matter of a new commercial trail in the Outer Point area. CBJ Parks and Recreation Director Kim Keiffer said the proposal is in response to public testimony that another trail is needed so residents aren't displaced from using the area. The department received $35,000 in Cruise Ship Passenger Fee money last year to study the matter. The board meeting begins at 6:00pm in the Assembly Chambers at City Hall.
The Finance Committees in the Legislature have agreed to a starting point in the processfor forging the operating budget for next fiscal year. House Finance Co-Chair Eldon Mulder (left) says the plan is independent of the Governor's proposed blueprint and is based on last year's management plan. He says that was the last point of agreement between the House and Senate committees. The operating budget and a bill authorizing Mental Health Trust funds are designated HB103 and HB104 respectively. The numerical designation in the upper body is SB69 and SB70.
The Senate Finance Committee took up the measure today aimed at bringing cruise ships and other large non-tanker vessels under the state's oil response laws. A task force developed recommendations since last legislative session as mandated by the measure that was approved then. Task Force Chair Brian Rodgers briefed the panel on the recommendations. The fiscal note does not call for a user fee, but the funding of state costs from the Oil Spill Response Fund. Larry Dietrick, Director of the Division of Spill Prevention and Response in DEC, explained that the task force did not want to charge a user fee to ensure the process is affordable to the those companies that will be regulated. There was testimony in support of SB16 including comments from Susan Schrader of the Alaska Conservation Voters and Eric Britten who is the Manager of Planning and Development for the shipping company, CSX Lines. Britten chaired the panel's Prevention Subcommittee. Senate Finance had to conclude its deliberations before taking action on the measure today, so it will be back again before moving to Rules for scheduling on the floor.
The oil ministers of key oil-producing countries say they're satisfied with the current price level and see no reason to limit production at this time. The comments came from the oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Norway and Mexico, who were meeting in Oslo, Norway yesterday.
The National Science Foundation has given a four-year, $4.8-million grant to Oregon State University to set up the nation's premier tsunami research lab. Construction on the new facility will begin this summer and is set to be completed by late 2002. It will include a large wave basin and sophisticated equipment to study and monitor wave action. The new tsunami lab will connect OSU researchers with other tsunami and earthquake experts around the world. The purpose of the new lab is to better understand the behavior of the waves. Tsunami experts say that the Pacific Northwest one day could be the scene of massive coastal damage from a major tsunami. Part of the reason is the region's susceptibility to earthquakes in the "Ring of Fire" Pacific Rim earthquake zone, stretching from the Northwest to the Aleutian Island chain.
Boy Scouting in Alaska has been left a $10-million trust fund. The money comes from philanthropist Elmer Rasmuson (right) who died two months ago at the age of 91. Proceeds from the trust are to be divided among the three Scouting councils in Alaska.
Wasilla is getting a new, expanded Sears store. Sears, Roebuck and Company has bought the empty Wal-Mart building on the Parks Highway and will convert it into a Sears department store. The new store will be five times larger than the current Wasilla facility.
The Special Olympics Flame will be lit in Athens, Greece, during a ceremony this month. After the February 17th ceremony, the torch will begin its journey of over 5,500 miles to Anchorage. More than 2,500 athletes and coaches from more than 80 countries will be arriving in Anchorage to participate in the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The games will be held from March 4th through the eleventh.
Volunteer trail breakers have attacked the huge slabs of ice on the Yukon River with chain saws and axes. They're using brute force to cut a trail through the jumbled ice on the river for the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, which starts February 11th. Crews still have to clear about 190 miles of trail between Circle and Eagle.
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