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Thursday,  March 4, 2010  12TH  EDITION  9:30  P.M.

Coast Guard crew survives crash in Utah mountains, Juneau based pilot in serious condition
MIKE STARK - Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two Coast Guard crew members, including one based in Juneau were injured  after a Coast Guard helicopter crashed in the Utah mountains.

The helicopter with five aboard crashed Wednesday morning as the crew was headed back to its base in Elizabeth City, N.C., after providing security support for the Winter Olympics.

University Hospital officials said  today (Thursday) that Commander Patrick Shaw of Juneau is in serious condition and Petty Officer 2nd Class Gina Panuzzi, of Lacey, Washington, is in critical condition. 

Both suffered internal injuries.

A third crew member, Lieutenant Commander Steven Cerveny, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was in serious condition after suffering a broken leg.

Two others aboard were not seriously injured.

The Coast Guard planned to begin its investigation into the crash today. 

Anchorage police investigate shooting reported on bike trail
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Anchorage police say a 27-year-old man was shot in the leg Thursday.

Police responded to the emergency room of a hospital and found Jesse Kern with a leg wound.

Kern told officers that he had been walking Thursday afternoon on a bike path on the south side of Northern Lights Boulevard near East High School and came into contact with six males.

He says one took a long gun from a dark duffel bag and fired, striking him in the leg.

Kern told police the shooter was 6 feet tall and weighed more than 230 pounds.

He says the shooter wore a black puffy North Face jacket over a black hooded sweat shirt and black cargo pants.

Police say they're searching the area for evidence and witnesses. 

2 die in Parks Highway crash
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska State Troopers say a 56-year-old Palmer woman and her 16-year-old granddaughter have been killed in a Parks Highway Crash that injured five other people.

Killed Thursday afternoon were Donna Vaughn and her granddaughter Coral Hammond. Vaughn's 60-year-old husband Donald and Hammond's 7-year-old sister Maizy were injured.

The couple and their granddaughters were in a Hyundai Sonata that collided with a GMC truck driven by 68-year-old Ann Peeples of Palmer in an area near Hurricane Gulch.

Peeples and her two passengers, Deborah Gilcrest of Anchorage and Doris Thomas of Palmer, were also injured.

The wreck closed traffic in both directions for hours. KTUU says one lane reopened shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday.
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Information from: KTUU-TV

UA president candidates wrap up tour of campuses
Three finalists to replace outgoing University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton wrapped up their tour of the system's three largest campuses Wednesday in Juneau.

UAS Chancellor John Pugh says the graduation rates of the state's high schools needs to improve.

He said the university and K thorough 12 educators need to work together to accomplish that goal.

And he noted Governor's Parnell's merit based scholarship plan would help in that effort.

Pat Gamble is president and chief executive officer of the Alaska Railroad Corp. since 2001 and a retired four-star Air Force general.

Gamble says his military experience would serve him well as UA president.

He says his skills include all aspects of running an organization to make it successful...

The third finalist is Lisa A. Rossbacher, president of Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Ga., since 1998.

Rossbacher is also a professor of geology.

She says the university should be the foundation to help prepare the state for the future.

The regents plan to meet again March 15th after hearing from university stakeholders with their thoughts on the finalists.

An announcement is planned sometime after that date.

Juneau School District youth coach dies
The Juneau youth sports  coach who passed away Tuesday night is identified as 42 year old Michael Jackson.

He was in his vehicle at the Dimond Park Field House where he had been waiting to pick up one of his two daughters.

Police told us that foul play was not suspected, although an autopsy was requested.

A relative told us there was no indication of a problem and that Jackson was an advid runner.

The GCI employee particapted in the Hoops Time basketball program.

The School District's Kristen Bartlett says the schools that have been impacted are providing counseling services to students and staff members.

Bartlett says there are many athletes, that also have been impacted, who are attending the basketball tournament in Sitka.

She says the Juneau school district is very appreciative of the Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka school district staff "who have made themselves available to council students and coaches during this difficult time".

Services are pending. 

Campbell favors disclosure in campaign ads
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell says he doesn't think there should be limits on money spent by corporations or unions in supporting or opposing candidates.

But he says he believes in disclosure.

Campbell's comments Thursday came in an interview, when asked about a January U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed corporations and unions to spend their own money in support of or against candidates.

That type of spending had been barred in some states, including Alaska, where lawmakers must decide whether to pass legislation in this political year that would clarify disclosure requirements and outright challenge the ruling's premise.

Campbell says he believes disclosure is more important that contribution limits because it causes people to ask why so much money is being funneled in a certain direction.

Plans call for back-to-back open seasons
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Back-to-back open seasons are expected for competing natural gas pipelines in Alaska.

Denali project hopes to begin courting potential gas shippers and securing commitments in July, after a filing with federal regulators next month.

If timelines hold, the open season would immediately follow one planned by TransCanada Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp.

Denali is a joint venture between BP and ConocoPhillips. It's competing with a TransCanada project with exclusive incentives from the state and an estimated pipeline cost at $20 billion and $41 billion, depending on the route.

Both projects seek to bring gas from the North Slope to markets.

Denali spokesman Dave MacDowell says ultimately only one will be built, and the market will decide which.

Denali expects to include cost and other details in its April filing.

Public employees union criticizes data loss deal
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A union representing 8,000 Alaska government workers is calling on the state to renegotiate terms of an identity theft settlement with the firm responsible for losing personal data of 77,000 current and former public employees.

In a letter to the administration sent Thursday, the Alaska State Employees Association criticized the state's settlement with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for being too passive and too limited.

Specifically, it wants the affected people to be automatically enrolled into the firm's credit protection services, instead of being required to opt-in.

The union also questioned why those services will only be available for two years, though consequences of the data loss may pop up long after the services expire.

Man in Alaska prison suspected in Colo. death
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Boulder police say a man serving time in an Alaska prison is suspected in the death of a woman whose decomposed body was found in a shallow grave in 2006.

Boulder detectives say DNA samples taken from things near the woman's remains matched DNA taken from 40-year-old John Angerer.

The information comes from an arrest affidavit unsealed Thursday.

Angerer was at the Anchorage Corrections Complex for a probation violation charge when authorities issued a warrant for his arrest last month.

He is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder for the death of 38-year-old Angela Josephine Wilds.

Hikers found her body a the South St. Vrain Canyon.

Authorities say they believe Angerer and Wilds had dated.

Report faults helicopter design in fatal crash
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Floor-mounted fuel controls likely contributed to a 2008 helicopter crash east of Chickaloon that killed four people on board.

A National Transportation Safety Board probable cause report released Wednesday says an unauthorized teenage passenger on board the aircraft likely bumped a fuel control lever with his foot or backpack.

That would have caused engine over speed and ultimately a loss of power.

The report also says inaction by the pilot and its operator, ERA Helicopters, contributed to the crash and the severity of injuries.

Three state telecommunications technicians and the pilot died in the crash.

The teenager, Quinn Ellington, who was 15 at the time, survived.
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Information from: KTUU-TV

Valley resident says her Great Dane was shot with pellet gun
A Mendenhall Valley resident wants to make sure nothing liked what happened to one of her dogs Tuesday night ever happens to other people's dogs.

Rick and Linda Smith live on Dudley Street with two Great Danes named Daisy and Tikka.

There's a fenced yard in back that borders a greenbelt area which separates the home from the ball field at Floyd Dryden Middle School. There's a walking path there.

Linda says she let the dogs out at about nine that night. She heard Daisy yelp a few seconds later and both dogs barking at the back fence.

She called them in and put Tikka in her cage. Daisy curled up on the couch and Linda went to bed.

Her husband got home from work at about 2:30 Wednesday morning. When he got up at about Noon he noticed Daisy's chest was red and wet from where she had licking it all night.

He noticed a small hole that they figure was caused by a pellet gun. They took Daisy to the vet and called police.

She says they don't want something like this to happen to  any more Juneau dogs, or people.

Smith says there neighbors have five young children that play in the yard next door..

She says Daisy will be on pain medication and antibiotics for awhile. She's suffering some discomfort yet and whining off and on.

Smith says Daisy is now wearing a T-shirt to keep her chest covered so she can't lick the wound.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the police department. 

Police seek 'person of interest' in shooting death
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Anchorage police are circulating the photo of a man who may be connected to a fatal shooting at the Alaska's busiest mall.

Police on Thursday named 28-year-old Terence Gray as a "person of interest" in the shooting death of 29-year-old Edwing Matos at the Dimond Center mall.

Matos on Sunday was shot multiple times in front of a barber shop in the mall's west wing.

Witnesses told police the shooter may have been wearing a wig and fake mustache.

Gray is 6 feet tall and 215 pounds.

Police say Gray was last seen driving a 1989 blue and white Chevy Suburban bearing with Alaska license plate CDE869.

Begich says leave port out of critical habitat
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska's congressmen are weighing on in the federal government's consideration of critical habitat for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales.

Sen. Mark Begich on Wednesday urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to exclude certain areas, including the Port of Anchorage.

He says  the port is vital to the economy of Alaska and the country's security.

Rep. Don Young repeated his opposition to the listing entirely. In a letter to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Young says NOAA's decision to list the whales will endanger Alaska and its economy.

He says the designation is not been based on credible science and is another example of the egregious misuse of the Endangered Species Act.

Palin has another book in her, and maybe a TV show
Former Governor Sarah Palin will reportedly follow up her bestselling memoir with another book and possibly a television show.

The associated press reports that Palin's publisher has announced that Palin's follow up to her memoir, "Going Rogue," will be about American virtues and strengths, drawing on readings that have inspired her.

Entertainment Weekly reports that multiple sources confirm that Palin and Mark Burnett, the creator of the show "Survivor," have been pitching a show about Alaska, described as a "docudrama."

Palin signed on as a contributor to Fox News channel in January.

Her first book sold nearly 3 million copies as of December, and was one of four political memoirs to sell more than a million.

Inspector: US fishery officer shredded documents
JAY LINDSAY - Associated Press Writer
BOSTON (AP) — The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Commerce says the nation's top fishery law enforcement officer destroyed documents while his office was under investigation.

Dale Jones' office is under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was reviewed by the inspector general after complaints from Northeast fishermen about arbitrary enforcement of fishing industry regulations.

Inspector General Todd Zinser told a congressional subcommittee in Washington on Wednesday that Jones ordered his staff to shred documents after inspectors met with Jones to discuss the pending review.

Democratic congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo of Guam is chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife. She questions Jones' commitment to a fair review. She says Jones should step aside until the inspector general's investigation is complete.

NOAA officials and a spokeswoman for Jones' office haven't returned requests for comment.

Golovin man shot and killed by State Trooper
Alaska State Troopers say one of their officers shot and killed a man Wednesday in the village of Golovin 70 miles east of Nome on the Seward Peninsula.

The Trooper responded at about 4 p.m. to contact 38 year old Joseph Amaktoolik regarding an exparte order for transport.

Amakoolik confronted the Trooper at the door of a residence brandishing a firearm. That's when the Trooper fired upon the man.

The Trooper was not injured in the incident.

Members of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation are traveling to the village to look into the circumstances of the incident.

In accordance with department policy, the Trooper was placed on administrative leave for three days. His name will be released after that time.


Coast Guard schedules open house to discuss oil seepage from old wreck near Lena Point
The Unified Command for the Princess Kathleen assessment operations will host an open house this evening (Thursday) to discuss the pollution risk caused by the ship that sank off Lena Point over five decades ago.

The 369-foot ship, a Canadian Pacific Railroad vessel built in 1925, went aground and sank in 1952 carrying an estimated 155,000 gallons of fuel.

The shipwreck is leaking trace amounts of oil.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Adam Baylor says the ship has become a source of pollution.

He says over the last couple of months there's been an increase in oil sheening.

The Coast Guard, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the contracted diving company, Global Offshore Divers,  are assessing the wreck to see if it's possible to remove the oil that's aboard the ship.

During the  open house representatives from the Coast Guard, DEC and Global Offshore Divers will be available to answer questions.

The vessel now rests on a slope in 80 to 140 feet of water.

The open house is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.Another interceptor missile at Fort Greely
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Another interceptor missile has been installed at Fort Greely.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says the missile installed last month is the 22nd at the Missile Defense Agency site outside Delta Junction.

The Pentagon plans to install 26 of the missiles at Fort Greely by October.

The missiles are part of the Ballistic Missile Defense System and are designed to shoot down enemy warheads in mid-flight outside the Earth's atmosphere.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

Alaska picked to host one of eight climate science centers
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska has been chosen for the first of Interior Department's eight planned regional climate science centers.

Secretary Ken Salazar said today (Thursday) that with rapidly melting Arctic sea ice and permafrost, and threats to Native Alaska coast communities, Alaska is ground zero for climate change.

The center will be based at the University of Alaska.

ACS lays off 21 in Fairbanks
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Communications Systems has laid off 21 Fairbanks employees.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the statewide phone service company cut the jobs Wednesday from its call center that deals with landlines.

ACS officials say it has been losing landline customers as more people rely on cell phones.

ACS still has more than 100 employees in Fairbanks, including about 30 in the call center.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

George Sullivan's family receives pay out from life insurance policy backed by city funds
The Anchorage Assembly approved a payment of 193-thousand dollars in city funds to a life insurance trust fund for the late former Mayor George Sullivan.

The Assembly voted February 16th to honor an agreement from 1982, when Sullivan ended his 14 years as mayor of Anchorage.

Sullivan died last year at the age of 87.

The city agreed to provide life insurance coverage for Sullivan because he could not qualify for private coverage due to a history of heart trouble.

His family continued to make premium payments to the city.

His son, current Mayor Dan Sullivan, recommended that the city pay out the money to a trust fund.

He tells the Anchorage Daily News that it's an "odd coincidence" that he's dealing with the issue as mayor and as a trustee.

Veterans group pushes for clean energy legislation
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A veterans group is spending nearly $30,000 in Maine for television ads urging Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to support clean energy legislation.

The ads feature an Iraq war veteran who was injured six years ago by a roadside bomb.

Christopher Miller says that using less oil will take money away from enemies like Iran, which has supplied increasingly destructive roadside bombs to militants in Iraq.

The Army vet from Carbondale, Ill., says America needs to end its addiction to foreign oil.

All told, votevets.org is spending $1 million on the ads in Alaska, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Juneau teams in driver's seat at Regional tournament
Juneau basketball teams were victorious in games at the Southeast Conference Regional Tournament  in Sitka last night.

The men earned a close 59 to 58 victory over Ketchikan.

The Lady Crimson Bears turned back their Ketchikan counterparts 61 to 57.

The championship games are set for Friday.

The Juneau teams will play the winners of games between Ketchikan and Thunder Mountain today.

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At the 2A boys' basketball region tournament being held at Juneau Douglas High School, Wednesday's winners included Hoonah, Skagway, Hydaburg, and Klawock.

Women's winners were Kake, Klawock, and Yakutat.

Iditarod winner's take slashed nearly $20,000
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The winner's take in the upcoming Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will be nearly $20,000 less than last year's top prize.

Race officials say the $50,000 prize — down from $69,000 — is due to a poor economy and redistribution of the $561,000 purse for the first 30 mushers to reach Nome, the finish line of the 1,100-mile race. The winner still also receives a new Dodge truck.

Another $30,000 will be distributed among later finishers, for a total purse of about $591,000, down from $925,000 in 2008.

Race officials say the Iditarod has lost nearly $1 million in funding, including two sponsorship deals.

The Iditarod kicks off with a ceremonial start in Anchorage Saturday and the actual competition begins Sunday in Willow 50 miles to the north.

                                       (Copyright ©2010 Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio)