|
Pole fire causes outage in
Mendenhall Valley
There was a power outage in the Mendenhall Valley Monday morning undoubtedly
caused by the strong winds overnight.
The fire department got involved. Captain Beth Weldon of Capital City Fire
Rescue says they were called at about 3:45 this morning for an
electric pole on fire at Airport Boulevard and Old Dairy Road.
She says when they arrived on scene, there were flames showing on top of the
pole. Firefighters waited for the arrival of Alaska Electric Light and Power
personnel to verify that power had been cut to the pole. With that
confirmation, the fire was doused.
Captain Weldon says there was enough damage to the pole that it had to be
replaced.
Gayle Wood of Alaska Electric, Light and Power explained that an overhead
wire that goes from pole to pole was evidently broken and caused the fire
and the extensive outage.
Power to the Loop and Auke Bay areas was restored at about 4-45. It took
about an hour longer to restore power to the Airport area. So power was back
there at about 5-45.
Wind gust to 154 and record rain reported
in Juneau
The National Weather Service has canceled the wind advisory in effect
overnight.
Meteorologist Kimberly Vaughn in the Juneau Forecast Office says the peak
wind atop the Federal Building downtown overnight was 58 miles per hour and
51 miles per hour at Mayflower Island.
The highest gust recorded was 154 miles per hour on Sheep Mountain. That's
at an elevation of over 3,500 feet.
Sunday's rainfall was of record proportions. Vaughn says a total of point 92
inches was recorded. That broke the previous record of point 81 inches set in
1968.
Today's shaping up as a real rainy day, as well. Over a half inch was
recorded at the Juneau Forecast Office on Back Loop Road between midnight
and three this morning. A total of point 83 inches fell by six this morning.
Land swap resolution highlights Assembly
agenda
The Juneau Assembly tonight will consider a resolution expressing support
for acquisition of the National Guard Armory and the land it sits on.
The Alaska Mental Health Land Trust will exchange the armory parcels for
land of equal value owned by the City and Borough of Juneau.
The Memorandum of Agreement between the CBJ and the trust calls for a
good faith effort to complete the exchange by December 30, 2004.
The Assembly is scheduled to award a contract for the collection and
disposal of junk vehicles, according to City Manager Rod Swope. He's
recommending it go to Channel Construction.
The owner will be charged 75 dollars and the city will pay Channel
Construction 285 dollars for every junk vehicle disposed of, up to 700 cars.
The only other bidder was Capital Disposal. That bid worked out to 590 dollars per
vehicle.
Currently $1.40 is added to monthly utility bills to pay for junk vehicle
disposal. Junk car roundups will be held two times this Spring and Fall.
The Assembly will consider leasing a parcel of land to the Federal Aviation
Administration for wind shear monitoring equipment. The equipment will be
set up on city owned land adjacent to the Foodbank on Crazy Horse Drive.
The Assembly will also consider an ordinance appropriating $163,000 as
partial funding for water projects along Highland Drive.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers at City Hall.
Poll says most Alaskans prefer taxes over
tapping fund
A recent poll suggests that Alaska voters prefer taxing the oil industry or
resurrecting the income tax to tapping the Alaska Permanent Fund to fix the
state's fiscal gap.
The Anchorage Daily News commissioned the poll.
Ivan Moore Research polled 500 Alaska supervoters, whose households voted at
least twice in the past four elections.
The poll shows 58 percent of voters opposed the idea of using the fund's
earnings for government.
But the idea gained more support as the percentage of earnings dedicated to
dividends rose.
The poll reflects a shift in voter attitudes about the state's financial
health since 2000.
Four years ago, 29 percent of voters considered the fiscal situation
serious. That has grown to 45 percent.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents supported raising oil industry taxes and 59
percent said they would support an income tax.
The poll was taken last week and has a four-point-four percent margin of
error.
Speaker predicts special
session on gas pipeline
House Speaker Pete Kott predicts a special session will be needed for the
Legislature to deal with any contract struck on a natural gas pipeline from
the North Slope.
He says the April 12th date provides for the necessary 30 day public comment
period. The Legislature's regular session adjourns May 11th. Kott says the
Legislature could be reviewing the contract during that same time.
But the speaker doesn't think its possible for the Governor to put the deal
together in that short period of time, especially with everything else
that's going on.
Fairweather's departure delayed by about a
week
The state's first fast ferry was scheduled to depart the shipyard in
Bridgeport, Connecticut this week, but that's been pushed back until next
week.
That update today [Monday] from Captain George Capacci, the general manager
of the Alaska Marine Highway System. He says there have been weather delays
and some minor problems, but nothing he's concerned about.
He says the trials have been going well. The vessel made 42 and a half knots
in last week's builder's trials.
The Fairweather will be homeported in Juneau and make runs to Sitka and in
Northern Lynn Canal.
Developer considers
Petersburg for sawmill site
A Washington timber developer is considering his hometown of Petersburg as a
possible site for a new sawmill.
John Glenn, owner of Glenn Custom Milling in Shelton, Washington,
specializes in high-end products such as beveled siding. His Shelton plant
processes about 30 million board feet of lumber a year.
He says he would process as much as 40 million board feet at the
Petersburg plant.
Petersburg Mayor Ted Smith says Petersburg would welcome the economic shot
in the arm. Smith says such an operation could create up to 70 jobs.
Governor agrees to write letter on tribal
grants
Governor Murkowski has agreed to write a letter clarifying his position on millions of dollars in tribal grants.
Murkowski angered tribal leaders last month when he wrote a letter to the
Environmental Protection Agency that appeared aimed at cutting off more than
15 (M) million dollars in grants to 150 Alaska tribes.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, Murkowski spokesman John Manly said
yesterday the governor will send another letter to clarify his position.
At issue are E-P-A tribal grants that can be used to fund administrative
expenses, training and planning to support a tribe's environmental programs.
Murkowski's January letter to the E-P-A said that Alaska tribes are
different from tribes in the Lower 48 because they lack Indian country
powers.
Ulmer joins parks watchdog group
Former Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer has joined a national parks watchdog
organization.
Ulmer has joined the board of trustees of the National Parks Conservation
Association. Her initial term will run three years.
The group's president, Thomas Kiernan, says Ulmer's interest in building a
strong economic future for Alaska will be a valuable asset for the private
advocacy organization.
Ulmer was Alaska's lieutenant governor under former Governor Tony Knowles.
She ran for governor in 2002, but was defeated by Governor Murkowski.
She is serving as a visiting professor this spring at the University of
Alaska Anchorage.
The parks organization has 300-thousand members nationwide.
Talkeetna man charged with attempted murder
A 28-year-old Talkeetna man is accused of strangling a woman and packing her
mouth with snow.
Erik Barber is charged with attempted murder, misconduct involving a
controlled substance, assault and resisting arrest.
Alaska State Troopers say Barber was arrested after a short struggle.
He is accused of assaulting 41-year-old Karen Hudson Friday night.
Barber's bail is set at 68-thousand-500 dollars.
Bill takes aim at bears
Senator Ralph Seekins is taking aim at bears.
Seekins is the same senator who last year spearheaded a bill that helped
usher in airborne wolf control in Alaska.
Now, he's introduced a bill that would make it far easier for hunters to
kill black or brown bears, in areas where they're deemed a threat to big
game prey populations.
The bill applies equally to black and grizzly bears.
It would allow people to hunt either species the same day they have been
airborne, and to take bear sows accompanied by cubs that are at least a year
old.
The bill would allow any bears that are at least a year old to be killed.
And it would allow the use of any motorized vehicle to assist in hunting
bears. Electronic devices, such as walkie-talkies, also would be allowed.
Bears could be killed within a half-mile of a garbage dump. And hunters
wishing to bait bears could do so without having to register.
Young's transportation plan netting
opposition
Alaska Congressman Don Young's plan for improvements in the nation's road
system is running into opposition by fellow Republicans.
Two Cabinet secretaries are urging President Bush to veto any transportation
funding bill that requires an increase in gas taxes.
That's a direct threat to the six-year spending plan advocated by Young.
Young is chair of the House Transportation Committee and wants a major boost
in highway and transit spending.
Increasing gas taxes, at least by tying them to the rate of inflation, is
one of the steps he says may be necessary to raise the money.
Young had expected to finish the Transportation Committee's bill last week
and send it to the House floor this week.
But he postponed both actions even before receiving the veto threat letter
from Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Treasury Secretary John
Snow.
Young says he believes additional time is needed to allow for the completion
of the revenue proposals for the six-year authorization.
Pillars line up announced
The Glacier Valley Rotary Club has released the line up for its Pillars of
America Freedom Series this year.
The three week series, aimed at inspiring the community's youth, begins
Wednesday, April 21st.
Club president Tish Griffin Satre says the speaker is Liz Murray.
She's the child of cocaine addicted parents. She went from those humble
beginnings to graduate from high school in two years and then went to
Harvard in 2000 after winning a scholarship from the New York Times.
Her life story based on a book she authored entitled, "Breaking Night,
was also documented in the Lifetime movie, "Homeless to Harvard."
Speaking April 28 will be Actor Steve Ford, who is also the son of President
Gerald Ford. Ford will speak about life in the White House, his career,
the importance of family, and how his family has dealt with alcoholism.
Wrapping up this year's series on May 5th is former Astronaut Mike Mullane.
Mullane was selected as a mission specialist in 1978 in the first group of
Space Shuttle Astronauts.
He completed three missions and logged 356 hours aboard the Shuttles
Discovery and Atlantis before retiring in 1990.
His topic will be "Humor in Space", according to Griffin Satre.
The lecture series is now in its 13th year.
OnStar campaign produces three winners in
Juneau so far
As we reported last week, two Juneau residents won vehicles through the
promotion at Capital Chevrolet.
That was on Monday and Tuesday. Anna Beck won Monday and Corey Baxter on
Tuesday. Lightening struck the third time on Wednesday when Darla Orbistondo
won.
General Motors Corporation and the satellite vehicle communication company,
OnStar, have joined forces in a promotion with 1000 new vehicles as
prizes.
Prospective car buyers step into a Onstar registered vehicle and press the
OnStar button and are told if they won a new car or not.
So far Capital Chevrolet is the only dealership in the five state Northwest
Region to give away a car. General Manager Ryan Carter told us last week
that just over 500 had been given away nationwide with balance awarded by
the end of February.
Anna Beck received paperwork from General Motors confirming she won a new
Monte Carlo. Baxter and Orbistondo are still waiting for their packets.
Ice measurements indicate an early breakup,
maybe
Tickets to the Nenana Ice Classic went on sale around the state February
1st.
Judging from early ice measurements on the Tanana River at Nenana, it might
be an early breakup this year. Then again, it might not.
As always, it's anybody's guess.
Classic officials say the ice is the thinnest it's been at this time of year
in a decade. The ice was 30 inches thick on Thursday, the thinnest
early-February measurement in ten years.
Ice Classic manager Cherrie Forness in Nenana says more snow on top of the
ice has worked as an insulator, keeping the ice from getting thick as fast
as in previous years.
Each year, thousands of Alaskans buy tickets to guess exactly what time the
ice will go out at Nenana.
Last year, the ice went out at 6-22 p-m on April 29th. A more than
300-thousand dollar jackpot was split between 19 winners.
Supreme Court kills Girdwood initiative
The state's highest court has put the brakes on a Girdwood initiative to
turn hundreds of acres into a forest park.
Initiative sponsors are trying to halt a plan to turn the land into a golf
course, and had hoped to put the issue to voters.
Sponsors collected more than 75-hundred signatures for the ballot
initiative. It sought to set aside most of 730 acres in lower Girdwood
Valley for a park. Some of the land would have been used for residential
homes and commercial uses.
The city wants to see the land turned into an 18-hole golf course, with some
homes and commercial development. It argued that the initiative was
tantamount to a land appropriation, and that power belongs to the Anchorage
Assembly under the state Constitution.
The high court sided with the city on the issue.
Crab harvest on track to break record
The head of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission says Oregon fishermen are
on track to bring in a record haul this season.
Director Nick Furman says crabbers have brought in about 16-point-seven (m)
million pounds since the season opened December first. It runs into August.
The record of 18-point-two (m) million pounds was set back in 1980.
About two-thirds of this year's harvest so far was caught in December.
Crabbers say their catches fall off sharply after the first few weeks of the
season.
This year the fishermen and processors agreed on a price weeks before the
season opened, allowing fishermen to set their pots as soon as the season
opened.
Furman said the crabs are abundant and ready for harvest, but that the
on-time start allowed the fleet to maximize its efforts over the past two
months.
Last year the crab harvest was valued at more than 36 million dollars.
British Columbia forgives fish farmer fines
Fish farmers were let off the hook by the British Columbia government for
hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, shortly after the Liberal Party
took office in May 2001.
The Sierra Legal Defense Fund said yesterday that it obtained documents
showing the fish farming industry was either refunded or forgiven as much as
one-point-seven million dollars in fines.
Sierra Legal lawyer Tim Howard says the environmental advocacy group doesn't
yet know the full fiscal story. Howard says the group is concerned that the
documents indicate that the Liberals handed out a favor to the aquaculture
industry, which also donated to Liberal campaigns.
Salmon farmers were fined for illegally expanding operations on government
lands. However, they argued that they were trying to comply but found their
paperwork was being tied up.
Provincial Auditor General Wayne Strelioff says he will take another look at
government financial statements concerning the industry. Strelioff says he
expects to know more by next week.
Premier Gordon Campbell says fish farmers deserved a break because their
license and tenure renewals and applications had gotten snarled in a lengthy
government-generated backlog.
Trooper trying to save moose ends up
shooting it in self defense
An Alaska State Trooper wildlife officer trying to help a moose in distress
ended up killing the animal Saturday to protect himself.
Trooper James Burton was trying to help a bull moose that had become
entangled in a downed power line on the west side of Fairbanks.
The line was still attached to a power pole and was tangled so tightly
around the moose's neck, the animal appeared be having trouble breathing.
Utility workers cut the line from the pole but the agitated moose ran off,
dragging the line through yards.
Wildlife Enforcement officers and utility workers followed the moose and
tried to remove the line from its antlers with long poles.
Burton followed the moose's tracks into a small wooded area, where the moose
charged him.
The animal pinned Burton against a tree in thigh-deep snow and he killed the
animal with a gun.
The moose was butchered and donated to a charity group.
Bears' hoopsters sweep, wrestler pins down
top honors
It was a sweep for Juneau Douglas High School basketball teams over the
weekend.
The men were in Sitka where they won Friday night 67 to 37 and Saturday
night 62 to 47.
The women hosted Sitka and took Friday night's contest 63 to 31. Saturday's
game was closer at 59 to 51.
Meanwhile, Sophomore Gerry Carrillo won the state wrestling championship in
the 103 pound category.
Juneau took 12th place in team competition during the event at Chugiak High
School over the weekend.
(Copyright ©2004
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)
|
