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Murkowski
picks lawmaker as fisheries advisor
Senator Alan Austerman was named to be the governor's top fisheries policy
adviser today.
Governor Murkowski lauded Austerman's background in fishing issues in
announcing the appointment of his chief fisheries adviser.
The 59-year-old Austerman is a Republican from Kodiak who has served in
the Legislature since 1994 and chaired a special committee on fisheries
for four years. He has been in the state senate since 2000 and was
re-elected in November.
Austerman has also worked as a commercial fisherman, fishing for salmon,
shrimp, halibut and crab and has owned a hunting and fishing lodge.
Austerman says he will move to Juneau to take the administrative post,
which begins tomorrow
Austerman says he hopes to work towards aiding a salmon industry suffering
from price gluts due to farm raised salmon and also grow the state's
mariculture industry. Austerman says he will also make the pitch to the
governor to consider allowing fish farming in Alaska on species other than
salmon.
Governor Murkowski says he plans to name a replacement to Austerman's
senate seat in a week to ten days.
Governor addresses concerns with
media reports
Governor Murkowski took time during this morning's press conference to
respond to criticism in recent media reports on a number of issues. One
dealt with what has been reported as his slowness in appointing a cabinet.
Murkowski says he won't be rushed in filling three remaining vacancies as
he seeks qualified people. He added that he has made a commitment to bring
his cabinet to Juneau, unlike the previous administration. As a result, he
says that brings an additional consideration to the evaluation process.
Murkowski added that he found that most people are not unwilling to live
in Juneau. The problem, he says, is finding the qualified people.
Murkowski says he's close to having his team together at Transportation
and Public Facilities and Fish and Game. Shirley Holloway also wants to
leave Education, but Murkowski says that will take more time.
There's been criticism in media reports on what has been described as a
"gag order" Murkowski has placed on his cabinet in speaking to
the press. He said all members of his cabinet will be at a press
conference Wednesday morning at 11:30 and will be available to answer
questions from the press.
Murkowski says he hopes he press conference will put this matter to rest.
The Governor said the press has reported the situation out or proportion.
He has asked new cabinet members to come up to speed on their departments
before speaking to the media.
On another matter, the Governor defended his administration's proposal to
transfer the permitting authority of the Fish and Game Department's
Habitat Division to the Department of Natural Resources. He did say that
he is receptive to alternative ideas.
Nervous burglar bungles caper
Juneau Police say an attempted burglary was foiled Monday morning.
Police received an alarm call from the Heritage Coffee outlet in the
Western Auto parking lot in Lemon Creek at about two o'clock.
Officers responded from the nearby police station within moments. Officer
Jeff Brink says they found a broken window and a cash register on the
floor of the business..
He says the crooks apparently forgot to unplug the cash register and when
they tried to runaway with it, the register was apparently jerked from
their arms to the floor. And he says it doesn't appear anything was
missing. An investigation continues.
Hospital and high school highlight Assembly agenda
Among other business, the Assembly takes up several appropriation measures
during its meeting this evening
One authorizes $25 Million in revenue bonds for Bartlett Regional
Hospital's Project 2005.
Another designates $837,000 as partial funding for design of the new high
school. An ordinance up for introduction authorizes an election to approve
additional monies needed for the new school at Dimond Park.
There's a $30,000 appropriation up for action earmarked for purchase of
equipment such as a scoreboard or sound system, for the Treadwell Arena.
The money is the last installment of a $90,000 anonymous donation
designated for the funding of arena equipment.
A measure up for introduction calls for expending $100,000 in passenger
facility charges as partial funding for a study on the expansion of the
airport terminal.
Members will be asked to approve a resolution putting CBJ in support of
the Lake Dorothy Hydroelectric Project.
Princess deal okayed by European
regulators
European Union antitrust regulators have given their approval to cruise
giant Carnival Corporation's
sweetened five billion dollar takeover of rival British cruise company
P and O Princess Cruises P-L-C.
The E-U said today the takeover does not violate the commission's
competition rules.
Both companies operate in Alaska. Carnival's holdings include Holland
America Line-Westours Inc.
Princess shareholders are expected to give their blessing to the deal in a
vote by early April.
Missing mammoth tasks subject of
Trooper probe
Alaska State Troopers are looking for whoever stole three pieces of woolly
mammoth ivory tusks from the Fort Knox Gold mine near Fairbanks.
A heavy equipment operator uncovered the tusks, which are about three to
four feet long, during expansion of the True North pit in January.
Mine officials say they contacted the University of Alaska Fairbanks to
have someone come out and look at them, then stashed them away.
The ivory was not locked up. When officials went out to retrieve them, the
tusks were gone.
Mine manager Rick Dye says miners didn't really recognize the tusks as
being valuable and didn't treat them that way. The theft was reported
Thursday.
Security guard convicted of theft
A former security guard who took thousands of dollars from Anchorage
businesses was sentenced to a year and a day in prison last week.
Twenty-five-year-old William ``Don'' Petty's plea agreement with federal
prosecutors was accepted Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Ralph
Beistline.
The judge says Petty stole and squandered more than 101-thousand dollars
as a Pinkerton Security Services guard.
Petty pleaded guilty last year to two counts of bank theft for taking
money he picked up from local businesses as a security guard between in
late 2001.
His job was to put the bags filled with cash, checks and daily receipts in
a safe every night and then retrieve them in the morning and deliver them
to Key Bank employees.
Beistline also ordered Petty to pay restitution of more than 32-thousand
dollars to Key Bank and nearly 70-thousand dollars to Pinkerton, which
paid for some of the bank's losses.
Minister cleared of sexual assault
charge
An Eagle River youth minister has been acquitted of charges he had sex
with a 16-year-old girl he counseled when he lived in Wyoming.
Twenty-six-year-old Kyle Elliott, who previously worked at a Catholic
church in Casper, Wyoming, was acquitted Friday night. Elliott had faced
up to ten years in prison if convicted.
The girl who accused Elliott is now 18 years old. She was the first
witness to testify Tuesday. She acknowledged having a crush on Elliott but
said he persuaded her to start sexual relations in July 2001.
Elliott denied the allegations. He took the stand Thursday and testified
he had no sexual relations with the girl.
In closing arguments Friday, defense attorney Mike Krampner asked jurors
to consider that the lead investigator, Casper police Detective Tim
Weinhandl, was never called to testify.
He said Weinhandl understood the obligation to tell the truth and that if
he had testified, he would have sabotaged the prosecutor's case.
Elliott moved to Eagle River in 2001 and became youth minister at Saint
Andrew's Parish.
Fairbanks wins wrestling
tournament...Juneau claims two 2nd places
The West Valley High Wolfpack has won the state Class 4-A wrestling
championship. The finals were held last night at Ketchikan High School's
Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium. West Valley, in Fairbanks, won the team title
with 174, followed by Skyview of Soldotna, with 134-point-five points.
Two wrestlers from Juneau Douglas High School finished second in their
weight class. Robert Vicario and Isaac Cadiente.
Principal Deb Morse was there says four of the nine Juneau wrestlers
advanced to the semi finals.. says four of the nine Juneau wrestlers
advanced to the semi finals.
The tournament was delayed a day because of foggy weather that did not
allow planes to land.
Ski-A-Thon for ORCA planned, but
could be changed depending on snow
ORCA, the Outdoor Recreation and Community Access program, is now taking
pledges for its annual Ski-a-Thon at the Eaglecrest Ski area.
ORCA Director Sierra Kaden said on KINY's Capital Chat this morning that
the event will go forth, snow or no snow.
The event is scheduled March 29. If there's not enough snow by March 1st,
she says they will develop another plan. It might be a walk a thon or
something similar instead.
She says her goal is to raise $15,000 to help support the recreation needs
of Juneau's disabled population.
Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News)
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