Amerada Hess proposal passes House on initial vote
The State House of Representatives debated and approved a measure today (Thursday) on the use of the earnings from the Amerada Hess account within the Permanent Fund.

The Governor proposed using its earnings to pay off the bonds for $340 Million of capital projects.

But that approach was changed by the House Finance Committee

Rather than tying up the earnings for a long period of time to pay off the bonds, the committee changed the measure by creating the Alaska Capitol Income Fund within the general fund. The earnings from Amerada Hess would flow to that account.

A court ruling when the Amerada Hess fund was created forbid the use of its earnings for Permanent Fund Dividends even though its managed by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.

Even so opponents characterized it as a raid on the Permanent Fund. One of those was Juneau Representative Beth Kerttula who said there were other resources to fall back on including the Constitutional Budget Reserve and budget surpluses created by high oil prices.

Even some members of the majority voted against the proposal, including Anchorage Representative Nancy Dahlstrom, who called it a raid on the fund.

Finance Committee Co-Chair Kevin Meyer said the proposal in no way impacts Permanent Fund Dividends.

Anchorage Representative Mike Hawker said right now the Amerada Hess account serves no public purpose.

House Bill 187 was approved 22 to 17 but held on reconsideration.

Tanana River ice goes out at 12:01 p-m.
NENANA (AP) - The ice officially went out on the Tanana River today at 12:01 p-m.

The manager of the Nenana Ice Classic says this year's jackpot is worth 285-thousand dollars. 

There were 46 winning tickets.

That amounts to about $6,100 dollars per winning ticket.

Cherrie Forness says the black and white tripod started listing yesterday and tipped over on its side at about 10:30 a-m today.

But she says it was ice moving down the river that eventually tripped the wire and stopped the clock in the watch tower at 12-01 to end the game.

The Ice Classic was started in 1917 when a group of railroad workers decided to fight boredom by erecting a tripod to guess when the ice would go out. Break-up usually occurs during the last few days of April and first week of May.

Last year, the ice went a few days earlier, at 2-16 p-m on April 24th.

Capital City may see a million visitors this tourism season
Juneau's cruise ship season starts next month.

The first small ship, the Spirit of Oceanus, docks Friday, May 8th with the first big ships, including two Princess vessels, showing up the next day.

Kirby Day of Princess says Juneau is the highest rated Alaskan port of call for his company. And the only port that exceeds Juneau on any of its runs is Victoria, British Columbia.

Lorene Palmer of the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau joined Day on KINY's Capital Chat this morning.

Palmer thinks this could be the year Juneau hits the million mark in the total number of visitors, including those coming via cruise ships and independent travelers.

The estimate for air passengers is between 60,000 to 70,000 and about 25,000 ferry passengers.

The estimate for cruise ship visitors is 915,000.

Palmer estimates spending by cruise ship passengers at $175 per person which amounts to about $160 Million. Day says that doesn't include about $20 Million in spending by crewmembers.

In addition, the city and borough head tax will amount to about four and a half million dollars and then what ever the sales tax brings in. 

Coast Guard resumes search for missing Alaska whalers
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A Coast Guard C-130 aircraft is back over the Bering Sea near St. Lawrence Island, searching for three whalers lost from a walrus-skin boat.

One man died and three people were missing after the 16-foot boat capsized in rough water early yesterday (Tuesday) morning.

Two men were rescued.

The six were part of a hunting expedition by whalers from the Yup'ik Eskimo village of Gambell, one of two villages on the island 700 miles northwest of Anchorage.

Twenty-year-old James Uglowook was pulled from the water unconscious and could not be revived.

Missing is 38-year-old Gambell Mayor Jason Nowpakahok, his eleven-year-old daughter, Yolanda, and his eleven-year-old nephew, Leonard Nowpakahok.

The boat was among several helping to tow a killed whale.

After wind and seas arose, Nowpakahok broke off from the towing and headed for Gambell but took on water and capsized shortly before two a-m.

Missing man found in Crow Hill area
Authorities located a man on Crow Hill in the West Juneau area early this morning after he was reported overdue.

The man, who was not identified, was located near the water tower in the area after he was reported overdue by his wife.

Authorities says it appears he was partying too much and fell asleep.

The man, who was not identified, was located a little after 3:30 this morning after starting the search at 2:30.

The State Trooper led search also employed personnel from SEADOGS and Juneau Mountain Rescue.

Budgets for CBJ mayor and assembly increased
The City and Borough of Juneau's revised budget for the Mayor and Assembly next fiscal year is set at $2,635,800.

That's a $379,900 increase from the F-Y 2006 budget approved last year.

CBJ operates on a two-year budget cycle.

Most of the increase is due to $300,000 earmarked for reimbursement to Carnival Cruise Lines for the city's share of the construction of the shoreline power facilities at the downtown dock.

The money comes from marine passenger fees.

Another $32,600 increase is earmarked for Social Service Advisory Board grants due to increased revenues from the liquor sales tax and tobacco excise tax.

A number of non-profit groups presented their funding requests to the Finance Committee yesterday. [Wednesday]

The Juneau Festival Association is requesting $27,500. That's an increase of $3,700 over last fiscal years' funding.

The Douglas Forth of July Committee is requesting $3,000, an increase of $600 over last year.

The Juneau ARTS and Humanities Council is requesting $65,000, an increase of $3,200 over last year.

Perseverance and Alaska Conservatory Theatre is requesting $39,00. That's the same amount the theater groups received from the city last year.

Juneau Jazz and Classics is requesting $10,000, an increase of $5,200 over last year.

Juneau Alliance for Mental Health is requesting $305,000, the same amount it received last year.

The Juneau Economic Development Council request is for $148,000, which is $5,000 more than the F-Y 2005 amount, but $32,000 less than the F-Y 2004 grant award.

The committee is scheduled to meet again next Wednesday, May 4th to take up renewal of the one percent sales tax.

The CBJ budget must be completed by June 15th.

Governor: Gas line talks progressing
JUNEAU (AP) - Governor Frank Murkowski last night (Wednesday) said progress is being made building a natural gas pipeline.

He did NOT say when he would present a recommendation from one of the three applications the state has received, but says negotiations with two groups are very advanced.

But he says whether the 20 (b) billion dollar line is built quickly largely depends on Canada creating a regulatory framework for the line. Two of the proposals would have a line going through Canada and to the Midwest.

Murkowski gave an update on gas line negotiations to a joint meeting of the Senate and House resources committees last night.

The state has applications from the three largest North Slope oil producers, TransCanada and the Alaska Natural Gasline Port Authority for fiscal terms to build a pipeline to ship the gas trapped under the North Slope to the Midwest or the West Coast, and possibly Asia.

The producers' and TransCanada's proposed pipelines run through Canada to the Midwest, while the port authority wants to build a pipeline to Valdez, liquefy the gas and ship it to West Coast markets.

Moorage management items highlight Docks and Harbors agenda
The Docks and Harbors Board of Directors tackles a full agenda during its meeting this evening.

Proposed regulations for small boat harbor transient moorage management is up for public hearing and action.

Port Director John Stone says the regulations have been out for public comment over the last month.

He says they establish policies for handling the moorage and allow the Harbormaster to designate areas in the harbors.

In addition, the board will review two sets of policies for managing transient traffic at Statter Harbor.

The board's Finance Committee is recommending that they develop and propose regulations for dealing with overdue accounts in the small boat harbors.

The board will consider going to public hearing on tideland lease applications for installing two, two hundred foot sections of dock off of the work float in Auke Bay.

Stone says if the panel opts to proceed, a public hearing on that matter will be held at the Operations Committee meeting on May 10th.

The Docks and Harbors Board meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Assembly Chambers at City Hall.

Juneau and Haines residents among gubernatorial appointees
Several Juneau residents are among those appointed to various boards and commissions this week.

Three were named to the Faith Based and Community Initiatives Advisory Board. They are Cindy Cashen, Julie Morris, and Robert Buttcane.

James C. Beck was among those named to the Alaska Statewide Living Council.

Among those appointed to the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board was Joanne Boehme.

One Juneau resident is among the four reappointed to the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Council. That's Michael Jacobson.

The other three are from Haines. They are Lorie Teel Crupi, Gary Hess, and Travis Reid.

Animal rights groups urge Katie Couric to boycott Alaska
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The co-host of N-B-C's ``Today'' show says she wants to visit Alaska but an animal rights group is urging her to join a boycott.

Katie Couric said on air Tuesday that she'd love to visit Alaska to catch a salmon.

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich responded by issuing an official invitation.

But a Connecticut-based animal rights group has asked Couric to stay away.

Friends of Animals faxed a letter to Couric yesterday (Wednesday), urging her to join a national tourism boycott over the state's predator control programs and hunting policies.

Spokeswoman Susan Russell says the group is trying to make an impression on Governor Murkowski.

She says they will continue to urge a boycott of Alaska until he changes his policy of killing wolves and allowing liberal hunting of grizzly bears to protect moose.

Murkowski Press Secretary Becky Hultberg said the governor won't be pressured by any Outside special interest group.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Family sues over out-of-state abortion for teenager
ANCHORAGE (AP) - An Anchorage social worker is being sued by a family who claims the social worker assisted a 15-year-old girl in obtaining an abortion two years ago.

The lawsuit claims the social worker at a clinic connected with Providence Alaska Medical Center led the girl to seek an abortion.

It says the social worker arranged for the girl to obtain the abortion in Washington, without her parents' approval.

Also named as defendants are the Sisters of Providence, doing business as Providence Health System Alaska and Providence Family Practice Center.

The girl is now 17.

The family is represented by attorney Yale Metzger. He says the girl and her parents are seeking damages for emotional distress.

The Legislature in 19-97 passed a law requiring that girls under 17 get approval either from their parents or a judge before obtaining an abortion.

The law has never taken effect because of court challenges.

An official for Providence says hospital officials believe sound medical practice was followed in the case.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Juneau experiencing more record high temperatures
There was another record high temperature in Juneau yesterday. The 72 degrees tied the record last set for the date in 1995.

Meteorologist Linnae Nyman says there could be another record today. The record for this date is 67 set in 1958. The high today is expected to reach 69.

The warm winds were blowing in parts of the borough over night. The forecaster says the windier places were above 60 degrees. Those include downtown and South Douglas. She says the high in the Valley where there was no wind reached 50.

Record highs were also set yesterday in Haines, Ketchikan and Wrangell. And Gustavus tied its record.

Fairbanks set a record high of 70 degrees Wednesday, breaking the old mark of 69 that was set in 19-58.

The National Weather Service says the trend is expected to continue in the Interior, with records predicted to fall today and tomorrow.

School funding formula changes tacked on to bill
JUNEAU (AP) - The House Finance Committee tacked on to another bill a plan to change school districts' cost factors.

The change could cost the state 80 to 90 (m) million dollars over the next four years.

The bill passed the finance committee yesterday (Wednesday). Originally, it was to authorize the state to reimburse school districts that go into debt for new construction.

It now includes the recommendations by the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research to bring the extra costs of operating schools in rural areas into line with how much schools are funded statewide.

The amendment by House Finance Co-Chair Mike Chenault, a Nikiski Republican, would phase the changes in over four years.

He says the phase-in will help keep the state's budget under control, allow districts to examine their costs and allow a legislative committee to form and find where ISER's numbers are correct.

Representative Mike Hawker, an Anchorage Republican, made a failed attempt to take Chenault's changes out of the bill. Hawker says the Legislature needed to control and meter government spending and not take a ``shotgun approach'' to it.

Senate approves wastewater primacy plan
JUNEAU (AP) - The state would take responsibility for wastewater permits issued by the Environmental Protection Agency under a bill passed  Wednesday in the Senate.

The bill by Governor Murkowski makes the state responsible for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.

The permits cover wastewater discharged from timber, mining and oil and gas projects as well as other industries covered by the federal Clean Water Act.

Democrats argue that the annual one-point-five million dollars the state will pay to run the program is an unnecessary expense and likely will not result in stricter enforcement of water quality standards.

Murkowski says the bill will speed up the permitting process. He says appeals can put a project on hold for up to three years under the current structure.

Under state control the appeals would not stop a project from moving forward.

The bill was approved 12-to-seven but still needs another procedural vote before given final approval from the Senate.

A similar bill in the House awaits a hearing in the House Finance Committee.

Ethics bills pass first committee
JUNEAU (AP) - The administrator of Alaska's legislative ethics committee says fewer ethics complaints may be filed if a proposal to charge those who talk about a complaint passes the Legislature.

Joyce Anderson said some penalty may be needed for disclosing such information. But, she says, the idea by state Senator Ralph Seekins, a Fairbanks Republican, goes too far.

Seekins proposes a misdemeanor charge with a penalty of up to a year in prison and a 10-thousand dollar fine for anybody who discloses that a complaint has been filed or will be filed against a state employee, legislator or legislative staffer.

Seekins' bills to change the executive and legislative ethics laws passed out of the Senate State Affairs Committee late last night (Wednesday). They started out as a way to fill holes in the law revealed by an investigation into conflict of interest allegations against former attorney general Gregg Renkes. But the bills also propose major changes that include the confidentiality restrictions.

Seekins compares the confidentiality issue to grand jury proceedings: If probable cause is found, the information is released. If a person is cleared of the charges, confidentiality remains.

Juneau Senator Kim Elton was the only committee member to object to moving the bills. He says what started out as a simple task of defining financial limits for state workers has gone far past that.

Bill marks $10 million for Glacier Highway extension
JUNEAU (AP) - A state House committee has approved a road projects bill that includes a ten million dollar boost for extending the Glacier Highway.

Juneau Representative Bruce Weyhrauch amended House Bill 275 to include the Echo Cove extension.

Weyhrauch says Southeast Alaska had been left off a list of major road projects across the state.

Extending Juneau's road system would be a start toward accessing Berners Bay and the proposed Kensington Mine, although officials say ten million dollars is not expected to be enough to reach the mine.

Governor defends jet lease plan
JUNEAU (AP) - Governor Murkowski says he has gotten a bad rap on his plan to lease a state jet for his official travel.

Murkowski says he doesn't believe the public has disapproved of his plan to sell one of the state's two propeller planes to rent the jet.

He says critics in the media have ignored what he contends are the merits of leasing the jet.

In addition to the governor's official travel, Murkowski says, the two King Air propeller planes currently owned by the state are used about 60 percent of the time to transport inmates to and from a private prison in Arizona.

Murkowski says the state Department of Public Safety is considering leasing a Westwind jet for about 30-thousand dollars a month with an option to buy.

The sticker price for the jet is about 2 (m) million dollars.

Anchorage Representative Eric Croft says he opposes the jet because it is a luxury that is not suited to the needs of the state.

He says he wants to insert language into next year's operating budget to keep the state from buying, leasing or operating a jet.

Anchorage tour owner sentenced to two years
ANCHORAGE (AP) - An Anchorage tour company owner convicted of defrauding customers will spend time in federal prison.

U-S District Judge James Singleton sentenced 33-year-old Jennifer Christensen to two years in federal prison for wire fraud and ordered her to pay 221-thousand dollars in restitution.

Christensen is the former owner of Ask Alaska Travel & Tours.

She pleaded guilty to 20 felony counts of misusing customer credit cards.

Ask Alaska Travel collapsed in the summer of 2003, stranding scores of tourists who had prepaid for vacations in Alaska.

Many showed up at hotels, riverboats and car rental agencies and found that Ask Alaska vouchers were worthless because Christensen had not paid the bills.

An investigation revealed Christensen double- and sometimes triple-billed customer credit cards for services clients didn't receive.

Assistant U-S attorney Crandon Randell (ran-DELL') says Christensen is a career thief.

Randell says she had misused customers' credit cards when she worked for previous businesses, sometimes overcharging for merchandise and pocketing the difference.

Randell says Christensen seems to lack a moral compass and will likely re-offend.

Small plane crashes in Anchorage neighborhood
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A small airplane trying to reach Merrill Field in Anchorage last night (Wednesday) lost power and crashed into trees on the edge of a neighborhood.

The three people on board the plane walked away without injuries.

The Cessna 185 was returning from a sightseeing trip to Knik (kuh'-NIK) Glacier.

The Cessna snapped power lines and startled neighbors at about seven p-m as it descended into woods near Sixth Avenue and Pine Street.

Dean Hilde was the pilot and had no comment on the crash.

Fifteen-year-old Jessica Tomlinson of Anchorage was one of the passengers, along with a family friend, 78-year-old Audry Lam of Florida.

It was Tomlinson's first ride in a small airplane.

Lam is scheduled to fly home to Florida today.
(Anchorage Daily News)

Anchorage felon man draws jail term for weapons possession
ANCHORAGE (AP) - A 26-year-old man faces ten years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty being a convicted felon in possession of eight firearms in Anchorage, including an automatic M-16 machine gun and a semiautomatic assault rifle.

Federal prosecutors say police issued an arrest warrant for Kirk Grable in March 2001 after his weapons were discovered in his girlfriend's home.

According to prosecutors, Grable left Alaska after learning about the warrant.

Last July, Grable was found by police in Auburn, Washington.

Prosecutors say Grable gave police a false name, but he was returned to Alaska when his true identity was discovered.

Sentencing was set for mid-July.

Liarsville purchased by Alaska Travel Adventures
A Juneau company has taken over a Skagway historical tourist attraction.

Alaska Travel Adventures Incorporated purchased the Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp and Cookhouse from Red Onion Saloon Incorporated.

Bob Dindinger -- chief executive of Juneau-based Alaska Travel -- says the camp entails a city of tents, gold panning and a show where a cast of period-costumed sourdoughs and dance hall girls perform.

Janice Wrentmore -- founder of Liarsville and president of Red Onion -- will continue to be involved in the creative aspects of the Liarsville operation.

Native communities to split pot of funds for development promotion
ANCHORAGE - More than seven-and-a-halfmillion dollars in federal funds will be distributed among 17 Alaska Native communities to promote development.

The funds are provided through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Indian Community Development Block Grant program.

HUD officials say the program gives Alaska Native and Native American communities with funds to improve roads, and water and sewer systems, as well as construct new community buildings.

The funds can go toward refurbishing existing housing, buy land for new home construction, or in some cases, build new homes.

Among communities to receive funding are the villages of Scammon Bay, Ruby, Koyukuk, Nulato and Kaltag.

Exploding toads in a pond in Hamburg, Germany, baffle scientists
BERLIN (AP) - Here's a story you don't hear every day -- toads are exploding in a pond in Germany.

Scientists say they have no explanation for what has caused more than one-thousand toads to puff up in a Hamburg pond this month and explode. Both the pond's water and body parts of the toads have been tested, but no bacteria or virus has been detected.

A scientist with the Hamburg-based Institute for Hygiene and the Environment calls it ``absolutely strange'' -- saying it doesn't appear to have happened anywhere before.

The toads fill up like balloons until their stomachs suddenly burst.

The head of a local environmental group says it looks like a scene from a science fiction movie.