Cracks found in cylinder sleeves of Fairweather's engines
The state fast ferry Fairweather is out of commission.

There's a problem with all four of its diesel engines according to Marine Highway General Manager John Falvey.

He says it's apparent that the cylinder sleeves on the engines have developed hairline cracks which have allowed coolant to enter the cylinders.

Falvey says they are working on a plan with the manufacturer in Germany to replace all the sleeves.

Its estimated the work will take nine to ten weeks putting the vessel out of service until mid-April.

The Fairweather and its sister ship, the Chenega, were in the Ketchikan shipyard for regularly scheduled annual maintenance when the problem was discovered.

The Chenega will resume service in about ten days according to John Manly with the Department of Transportation.

Manly says the engine's manufacturer is recommending that the Chenega continue to stay in service.

He says the manufactures is confidant that the Chenega's engines won't have the same problem.

The Chenega engines are still under warranty.

One of the Fairweather's engines had to be replaced under warranty last year when it developed a coolant leak due to a manufacturer's defect. 

The Fairweather's engines are no longer under warranty.

Meanwhile, Manly says the two fast ferry's current schedule, "the southeast shuttle" between Juneau and Ketchikan will have to be discontinued.

He says they'll have an announcement on the new Chenega schedule on February 20th.

LeConte back in service
The State Ferry LeConte has returned to service.

The vessel's gyro compass went out near Hoonah Wednesday.

It turned around at Hoonah and came back to Juneau.

John Manly of the State Department of Transportation says a technician flew in from Seattle yesterday (Thursday) to fix the gyro compass which, as it tuned out, had a problem in a circuit board.

The LeConte was scheduled to depart Juneau for Hoonah at 7 p.m. last night. (Thursday)

The ferry was out of service for much of December due to problems with its drive shaft. That came after about a six-week overhaul in October and November.

The vessel serves Petersburg, Kake, Sitka, Angoon, Tenakee Springs, Hoonah, Juneau and Pelican.

Jurors in Waterman trial break for the weekend
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Jurors in the Rachelle Waterman murder trial are taking the weekend off. They adjourned tonight (Friday) without coming to a verdict.

The group has been in deliberations since Wednesday morning.

A note to the court from the group of 12 said they would not be meeting Saturday or Sunday and would work no later than 2:30 Monday afternoon.

A juror earlier in the trial said he had a root canal scheduled for that afternoon.

This morning jurors paused from their deliberations to ask for the legal definition of the word ``engage.''

The Craig 17-year-old is charged with enlisting the help of two former boyfriends, Jason Arrant and Brian Radel, to kill her mother.

The primary question before jurors is whether the teen agreed with the two older men to ``engage'' in or cause the murder of Lauri Waterman.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins met with attorneys from both sides to decide on a definition.

Using Webster's and Black's Law dictionaries, they agreed, after some debate, to define the word ``engage'' as: ``to involve oneself, take part in or to participate.''

Jurors have deliberated for three days.

Legislators' interim pay skyrockets
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Alaska lawmakers gave themselves a raise last year for the time they spend working on legislative business outside of session.

Since then, interim pay has shot up 145 percent.

Legislators can claim long-term per diem outside of a regular or special session when they work more than four hours a day on legislative business or when they attend a meeting for a legislative or public purpose.

Until the end of last June, the interim per diem rate was 65 dollars per day. Then the Legislative Council raised the rate 150 dollars per day.

That change resulted in increased payments last year to 46 of the 51 state legislators who filed reports in both 2005 and 2004.
---
In one case, interim payments exceeded a lawmaker's 24,012-dollar annual legislator's salary. Representative Bruce Weyhrauch (a Juneau Republican) claimed 24,195 in interim pay, the highest of any lawmaker.

The year before, Weyhrauch claimed just 3,055 dollars.

Weyhrauch defended the spike, saying he decided for the first time to report the actual hours he spends on legislative business.

While Weyhrauch received the most interim pay, Representative Reggie Joule (a Kotzebue Democrat) had the largest increase.

Joule was paid just 130 dollars for interim work in 2004. Last year, that rose to 20,075 dollars.

Legislators' interim per diem rate may change again. Senator Gary Wilken (a Fairbanks Republican) is proposing lowering the rate to 100 dollars if a legislator spends more than four hours a day on legislative business. Lawmakers would get 75 dollars for working one to four hours.

Wilken's proposal is scheduled to be heard by the Legislative Council on Monday.

High court upholds ending senior bonus
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld the governor's right to veto money for the Alaska longevity bonus program.

Governor Murkowski in 2004 axed the appropriation for the program that paid eligible senior citizens as much as 250-dollars per month.

A group of senior citizens sued.

Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Charles Pengilly in September 2004 ruled that state statute did not legally entitle seniors to the bonus.

And he said the governor's veto was part of the normal Legislative process.

The high court this week affirmed the lower court ruling.

House and Senate bills seeking to reinstate the appropriation have not been scheduled for committee hearings.

Airport Board agrees on parking rates
The Airport Board of Directors took action on parking rates at its meeting Wednesday night.

Business Manager Patty deLaBruere told us Thursday that the panel resurrected the proposal that was tabled last month.

The proposal that passed during Wednesday's meeting  calls for 15 minutes of free parking in the short term lot, rather than the 30 minutes in effect currently.

The charge for the next 45 minutes will be one dollar and then two dollars for each additional hour.

There's no daily maximum rate since deLaBruere says people should be parking in the long term lot after that period of time.

The motion tabled last month called for a one dollar charge for the first half hour and 2.50 for the first hour.

Under the new plan, the first two hours in the long term lot will be three dollars and a dollar for each additional hour. The daily maximum will be 12 dollars and the weekly rate, 75 dollars.

The rate for a lost ticket is increased to 35 dollars.

The new rates take effect April 1st.

Eaglecrest revenues nearly double in first two weeks compared to last year
Juneau's Eaglecrest Ski Area is making up for lost time.

Warm temperatures and a lack of snow kept the ski area from opening until January 26th.

The city owned ski area has been packed the last two weekends, according to manager Kirk Duncan, who says there's been a lot of pent up demand.

They exceeded their budget by about fifty percent, so he says they're starting to gain a little business over what they lost over Christmas.

During the same time frame last year, Eaglecrest did $66,000 in business, compared to this year's $120,000.

Duncan says if the future mid-mountain chair lift had been operating the ski area might have been able to open about two and half to three weeks earlier.

Duncan says in a good snow year the new chair lift will allow the city owned ski area to open by Thanksgiving.

In the last municipal election voters approved $800,000 for the new chair lift which is set for construction next summer.

The new lift will be 4,400 feet long and 1,100 feet in vertical elevation.

Web threat raises question: How vulnerable is Alaska pipeline?
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The trans-Alaska pipeline looks like it would be an easy target for terrorists intent on destroying a valuable American asset.

But officials say looks can be deceiving.

The 800-mile pipeline -- half of it above ground -- supplies nearly 17 percent of domestic crude oil production in the United States.

John Madden is deputy director of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He says the pipeline has state, federal and local agencies keeping an eye on it.

Concerns that terrorists were targeting the pipeline rose several weeks ago.

The SITE Institute in Washington, D-C -- which tracks terrorist entities -- discovered an Arabic posting and translated it.

The Web message suggested that attacks be launched on oil pipelines, refineries and pumping stations -- including those in Alaska.

The Web message was posted on a password-protected al-Qaeda-affiliated forum. 

Senator Murkowski believes Patriot Act is improved
Congress is moving toward the renewal of the Patriot Act.

A deal between the White House and Senate Republicans promises to create greater assurances that it would not undermine civil liberties.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and three other republicans had joined Democrats last year to block renewal of the act. temporary extensions kept several provisions from automatically expiring until a deal could be worked out.

Murkowski says it was never their goal to kill the patriot act, but rather to improve upon it. She believes that's been done.

The agreement clarifies that most libraries are not subject to national security letters, which demand information about suspected terrorists.

In addition, anyone who gets a subpoenas to provide information in terrorist.

Stevens complains about mix involving his wife during airport screening
Aviation security officials testifying before Senate lawmakers Thursday say they've beefed up passenger screening at the nation's airports.

But some senators raised concerns about the screening of passengers who have found themselves on a terrorist watch-list.

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens who chairs the Commerce and Transportation Committee says his wife Catherine has been detained. He says she was questioned on whether she was Cat Stevens.

That is, Cat Stevens, the singer now known as Yusuf Islam, who was denied entry into the U.S. in 2004 because his name appeared on a security watch list.

State settles lawsuit in trooper shooting
KENAI, Alaska (AP) - The state has reached a 310-thousand-dollar settlement with a family who filed a lawsuit in the case involving an Alaska State Trooper who shot a Nikiski man to death two years ago.

The civil lawsuit claimed trooper Arthur Jesse Osborn was either negligent or used intentional, excessive force in the January 2003 shooting of 30-year-old Casey Porter in a pullout off the Sterling Highway.

The lawsuit named Osborn, as well as the state, and sought more than one million dollars in damages.

It was filed on behalf of Porter's estate, which was represented by Danielle Gordon, the mother of one of Porter's children.

A second lawsuit -- filed on behalf of Porter's parents -- is still pending.
(Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska State Trooper arrested on domestic violence charges
WRANGELL, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska State Trooper has been arrested on domestic violence charges.

Wrangell police officers arrested 29-year-old Clinton Songer on Sunday after he allegedly forced his way into a woman's apartment.

Dominique O'Connor told police Songer knocked on her door Saturday evening, entered the apartment and grabbed her by the neck.

The Troopers'  Greg Wilkinson says the alleged incident occurred while Songer was on pre-approved leave. Wilkinson says the Wrangell-based trooper will remain on leave until March.
(Thanks APRN)

Man indicted on 24 charges
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Anchorage man has been indicted on 24 charges in connection with a crash that killed a father of three.

Twenty-one-year-old Kristopher Felber was indicted Thursday in Anchorage Superior Court. The charges include murder, assault and drunken driving.

Thirty-five-year-old Stephen Strain was killed on January 31st. Police say Felber rammed into Strain's small car with a stolen one-ton pickup truck near a busy Anchorage intersection.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Rescuers believe that avalanche was triggered by victims
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Officials say an avalanche near Flattop Mountain in Anchorage was triggered by the victims.

32-year-old Brian Mulvehill and a friend were snowshoeing Wednesday night when the slide occurred. Mulvehill was killed.

Rescuers say it looks like the two avoided patches of wind-scoured rock in favor of a route across a smooth patch of snow. And they say that was a decision that cost Mulvehill his life.

Rescuers believe that Mulvehill stepped into the patch of snow, triggering the slide.

Friend John Lorentzen was about 15 feet away and escaped the full force of the slide.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Green Party says court order requires full recognition
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Green Party says it has won another round in its fight to be a fully recognized political party.

The Green Party's Jim Sykes says Superior Court Judge Stephanie Joannides granted a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from denying the Greens benefits afforded to other political parties.

The Green Party started the discussion by arguing in a lawsuit that an old state law requiring political parties to garner 3 percent of the vote in the gubernatorial race was too restrictive.

The law was changed, but Sykes says that law did not fit the bill, either.

Sykes says the judge agreed that the law is still too restrictive.

That law requires third-party candidates to receive 3 percent of the vote in the gubernatorial race. If there is no governor's race, a third party would need 3 percent of the vote in the U-S Senate race. If there is no Senate race, the same percentage would apply for the U-S House race.

Airman serving in Iraq calls hometown radio station in Juneau
Senior Airman Helen Coleman of Juneau is now serving in Iraq.

She's working as anti-terrorism force protection analyst and serves with members of the U.S., Iraqi and Italian armies.

Coleman's been with the Air Force unit in an area near Nazarea for a month. She says people in her job class spend four months there at a time, so she's scheduled to rotate out in May.

Her mother and father are John and Alberta Hanlon of Juneau. She's a 2001 graduate of Juneau Douglas High School and joined the Air Force following graduation.

She's married to Senior Airman Brandon Coleman who's based at the Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas.

What seems to be a common theme among military members who have seen Iraq first hand, their take is different than the media's.

During an interview with KINY Radio, Coleman says in her personal opinion, which she points out in no way reflects the Air Force view, the media focuses on the "bad" and "sad" stories because they sell better than the "good" ones.

The impression she's received from the Iraqi citizens she's met is that they are happy the American military is there.

She's kept abreast of events in Juneau and how the town welcomed back the Alaska Army National Guard unit that returned last month. She found the support for the troops here amazing and was moved by the their reception home.

Coleman plans on coming home on leave herself when she takes leave at the end of May after departing Iraq.

Coach denies Olympian Randall doped her blood
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Kikkan Randall's cross-country ski coach says there's absolutely no likelihood that she's involved with blood doping.

Jim Galanes says it's likely dehydration or a change in elevation pushed the Anchorage Olympian's hemoglobin levels above acceptable standards.

The International Ski Federation says Randall is one of eight cross-country skiers competing in the Olympics who have been suspended for five days because of excessive hemoglobin levels.

The timing means the athletes will be barred from competition until at least Monday.

That will keep the Randall and six skiers out of the first cross-country events of the Olympics -- the men's and women's pursuit on Sunday.
---
Hemoglobin is the part of a red blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to all cells and can increase endurance.

Illicit strategies such as the use of synthetic hemoglobin and blood transfusions have been used by some athletes to increase oxygen in muscles.

Galanes is a three-time Olympian who coached for the U-S Ski Team for six years. He says he has worked with Randall for five or six years and spoke with her today.

Galanes says the testing used by the International Ski Federation is flawed in part because athletes can't appeal.

And he also says more sophisticated tests exist to determine whether hemoglobin levels are elevated because of abnormal, illegal methods.

He says if Randall were dehydrated from traveling, she easily could flunk the test.

Boozer set to return
Carlos Boozer is scheduled to see his first action in the National Basketball Association since last season when the Utah Jazz visit the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight.

The former Juneau Douglas High School and Duke standout went down with a foot injury nearly a year ago and then suffered a hamstring injury in training camp prior to the start of this season.

Tip off for today's game is 4 p.m. Juneau time.

Crimson Bears to tangle with Sitka on local court
The men's basketball team at Juneau Douglas High School hosts the Sitka Wolves this weekend.

Tip off tonight and Saturday on KINY is 8 p.m. Pre-game is 7:45.

Court strikes down Chignik co-op
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - For the second time, the Alaska Supreme Court has struck down the Chignik salmon cooperative.

Thursday's ruling is a blow to the state Board of Fisheries.

The agency had attempted to convert the Chignik commercial fishery from a competitive harvest to one where many of the permit holders could sit out the season, while others work collectively to catch the fish.

It was intended to lower costs and raise profits.

The judges found that the co-op violates the state's Limited Entry Act. That's the law that controls who may participate in the state's fisheries.

The court further held that the board needs legislative approval before making the changes.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Boat engines like 'dinner bells' for sperm whales
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Scientists say sperm whales in the Gulf of Alaska are likely using the sounds of fishing boat engines as underwater dinner bells.

The sounds are leading the whales to longlines hung with valuable sablefish.

The engines make loud, erratic bubbling noises as fishermen maneuver their boats while winching up hundreds of bottom-dwelling sablefish.

Scientists estimated there are 90 male sperm whales feeding from longlines in the eastern Gulf of Alaska.

The discovery has helped researchers devise low-cost ways for fishermen to hoodwink the highly intelligent cetaceans.

They include hauling in the line without shutting down the engine, or making decoy noises with the engine to draw whales to a different area.

Fishermen said they will try the methods this season, which starts in three weeks.