UPDATE -  Palin won't seek re-election as Alaska Governor and will resign later this month
.Governor Sarah Palin not only will not seek re-election to a second term she will not serve out her first term.

That announcement coming during a news conference this morning (Friday) from her home in Wasilla.

"With this announcement that I am not seeking re-election, I determined that it's best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell.

In an interview with the Lieutenant Governor, Parnell told us Governor Palin will remain in the job of Governor through July 26.

He says he plans to be sworn in in Fairbanks on that date following the Governor's picnic there. The picnic is scheduled for Saturday, August 25.

Parnell says the Governor informed him of her decision Wednesday night.

We asked if he ever thought he'd become governor in this fashion, Parnell said he did not.

Adjutant General Craig Campbell, who now heads up the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, will assume the role of lieutenant governor.

Porta potties set on fire
Arsonists were busy lighting porta potties on fire early this morning.

The first incident was reported at about 12:22 a.m. at the Auke Lake parking lot across from Fritz Cove Road.

Capital City Fire Rescue quickly extinguished that fire.

The other call came in 12:58 The caller reported a loud boom and a fire in the Diamond Park ball fields.

The fire department found two separate fires.

One fire was located near a dugout and the second was a building located approximately
100 feet away.

The building was the power shack for the Diamond Park fields.

Due to the danger of electrocution, power was shut off to the immediate area by AEL&P.

Once the fires were extinguished and it was determined to be safe for fire department personnel,
power was restored to the area.

Noah Jenkins of Capital City Fire Rescue says damage in all three incidents is estimated at $30,000.

No injuries were reported.

Police are investigating the fires as arsons.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department or Crime Line at 586-4243.

Callers to Crime Line may remain anonymous and still be eligible for a cash reward.

The Crime Line number again is 586-4243.

Hiker rescued by Coast Guard near Juneau
The Coast Guard medevaced a 35-year-old hiker near Tracy Arm early Thursday afternoon after he reportedly broke a leg during a fall while hiking 35 miles southeast of Juneau.

The hiker was with friends on a kayak trip when they reported the incident to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Coast Guard received the request from the Forest Service to conduct a medical evacuation.

A helicopter from Air Station Sitka was diverted from a patrol and safely hoisted the patient at 3:51 p.m.

The man was transferred to Capital City Fire/Rescue in Juneau at 4:30 where he was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital in stable condition.

His name was not released.

Cruise West suspends Ketchikan stops in 2010
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — A cruise ship company says it will bypass Ketchikan next year in favor of tours out of Juneau and Anchorage.

The decision by Seattle-based Cruise West halts more than 25 years of visits by the company's small vessels to Ketchikan near the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle.

Company vice president John Kreilkamp says economics and guest preference figured into the decision.

Cruise West will focus on two Juneau-based itineraries next year with a third operating in Prince William Sound from Anchorage.

The company will operate another 10 early- and late-season voyages between Seattle and Juneau.  

Parental consent notification initiative gets OK
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska initiative that would require parental notice or consent before a minor can have an abortion has been advanced to the signature gathering process.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell certified the initiative Thursday.

Backers must gather 32,734 signatures within one year to get the measure on the ballot.

Signatures must be composed of at least 7 percent of the last general election turnout from 30 election districts.

The initiative makes an exception if a teenager submits a notarized statement that she is a victim of abuse by a parent or guardian, a court allows an exception or a doctor decides there is a medical emergency.

A parental consent measure introduced in the legislature this year passed the House but was amended to parental notification in a Senate committee and held over

Memorial for Coast Guardsman held in Ketchikan
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — Shipmates of Petty Officer 1st Class Sefton Reid tossed flowers in the water following Thursday's memorial service for the Coast Guardsman who died while fishing south of Ketchikan last week.

A Jayhawk helicopter crew conducted a fly-by after the service attended by members of the Coast Guard and the community.

The 31-year-old left behind four children. His father, Mark Reid, broke into tears during the singing of "Amazing Grace."

Reid's family will hold an additional memorial later this month in Jamaica.
(Ketchikan Daily News) 

Strike doesn't slow down Denali visitors
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The picketers are out and the buses are rolling past them at Denali National Park.

Park spokeswoman Kris Fister says the buses are pretty full Friday, as this is a busy time of the year regardless of the Fourth of July weekend.

The strike was called Wednesday after negotiations broke down between concessionaire Doyon/ARAMARK and the IBEW union local representing 17 bus mechanics, radio technicians and warehouse workers.

Bus service is important at Denali because there is only one road into the national park, which is larger than the state of Massachusetts. Visitors can drive their own vehicles only 15 miles into the park.

Park buses are used to transport visitors the rest of the way along the 92-mile park road.

FEMA visit brings hope to Eagle
EAGLE, Alaska (AP) — Residents in the city of Eagle are finally getting some relief after a springtime flood that damaged homes and businesses.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived this week and met with all the people that lost their homes and need to rebuild.

Andy Bassich, a coordinator with the rebuilding Eagle effort, says FEMA is funding 13 log cabin kits for individual assistance. It will pay for the supplies needed, and the people themselves will begin to rebuild.

Eagle is about 200 miles east of Fairbanks at the end of the Taylor Highway. Many rely on the spending of summertime visitors. The May flood wiped out the community's cafe and hotel.
(KTUU-TV)

Juneau's 4th of July fire works display may be first in nation
Juneau's 4th of July starts at 11:59 tonight with the annual fireworks display.

Is that the first display in the nation?.

Mark O'Brien of the fireworks crew thinks they are the first.

He said on Capital Chat Wednesday that he remembers CNN using footage of the fireworks display here one year and using it as the opening for their 4th of July broadcasts.

50th anniversary of statehood to be marked by reenactment of flag raising in Juneau
A special occasion for this 4th of July is a reenactment of the ceremony 50 years ago marking Alaska's entrance into the union.

Juneau Douglas City Museum Director Jane Lindsey and local historian Marie Darlin were on Capital Chat Wednesday

They said over 3,000 people attended the flag raising ceremony on July 4, 1959, in front of the Juneau Memorial Library, the present day museum.

Even though Alaska, became a state on January 3, 1959, it was not permitted to raise the 49 star flag until July 4. Neither Lindsey or Darlin could explain why that was the case.

The re-enactment on the 4th begins at 9 a.m. in front of the city museum.

Juneau Parade Grand Marshall Romer Derr will ring the bell as he did 50 years ago.

Harold Wheaten of Taku Post 5559 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who raised the flag 50 years ago will raise it again this 4th of July.

And 100 year old Walter Soboleff, who gave the opening prayer during that occasion 50 years ago will do the same this year.

NEW - Yukon Flats refuge land exchange rejected
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected a proposed land exchange at the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

In a preliminary decision Thursday, the service picked the "no action" alternative from a range of options in environmental studies.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports it indicates the agency’s direction for the final decision expected in early 2010.

Doyon Ltd. would have received 110,000 acres plus oil and gas rights to another 97,000 acres of refuge lands. In exchange, the refuge would have picked up at least 150,000 acres owned by Doyon within refuge boundaries.

The FWS decision was welcomed by many in communities near the refuge who feared it would open a pristine area to oil and gas development.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

SeaLife Center is ducky
SEWARD, Alaska (AP) — Things are just ducky at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.

The center is welcoming three species of ducklings just in time for the Fourth of July weekend.

Four long-tailed ducklings, two king eiders and one spectacled eider have emerged from their shells and now are starting to explore.

The spectacled eider is listed as threatened in Alaska. The SeaLife Center's resident flock has been at the center since 2003 and is providing researchers with valuable data.

The center now has 11 species of birds, including three kinds of sea ducks.

Alaska Peninsula caribou herd shows promise
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — State wildlife officials say things are looking up for a caribou herd on the southern Alaska Peninsula.

The area where the herd is struggling is under state-sponsored predator control.

Officials with the Department of Fish and Game say at least eight wolves have been removed.

Officials say the pregnancy rate for collared adult cows is 90 percent.

As of the middle of June, the survival rate was 71 percent — slightly up from last year.

Officials say the herd in now about 800 animals — 200 more than before predator control.

Spiffy clashes with sentiment at Alaska cemetery
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Some relatives with loved ones buried at a Fairbanks graveyard are concerned by what they consider to be overzealous caretaking.

Jori Walker, whose mother and grandmother are buried at the Birch Hill Cemetery, says she was surprised during a recent visit to find a vase and some decorative ornaments gone. Nearby, a three-man crew was clearing sites of plastic flowers, ornamental rocks and other items.

The site, dedicated in the late 1930s, has been managed and owned for the past two years by a nonprofit. Tim Wisniewski, who owns the nonprofit, says he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. But he likes things to look good, and the cleanup is an effort to make the site more appealing to the average visitor.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)