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Judge sentences former Alaska lawmaker
in bribery case
By
DAN JOLING - Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A former Alaska
legislator convicted of taking bribes to
push legislation for a major natural gas
pipeline has been sentenced to 3 1/2
years in prison.
Former state Representative Vic Kohring,
a Republican from Wasilla, was sentenced
today (Thursday) in federal court. He was
convicted in November of three
corruption charges.
Kohring was convicted of accepting at
least $2,600 from executives of VECO
Corporation, an influential Alaska
company that provided engineering,
construction and facility maintenance
services to oil producers.
Prosecutors say Kohring used VECO CEO
Bill Allen as a human ATM machine,
tapping him for handouts of $600 to $700
at a time.
One such transaction was caught on video
by FBI agents who hid a camera in a
hotel room rented by VECO in Juneau,
Alaska's capital, in March 2006.
Commissioner
of health and social services resigns
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The head of the
Department of Health and Social Services
has resigned.
Commissioner Karleen Jackson gave the
department's 3,500 employees one day's
notice of her departure.
Jackson wrote in an e-mail to staff that
her resignation is effective Friday.
She said Bill Hogan, Deputy Commissioner
for Family, Community and Integrated
Services, will serve as acting
commissioner.
Jackson was first appointed to the post
in 2006 by former Gov. Frank Murkowski.
She was one of only two of his cabinet
appointees to keep their jobs under Gov.
Sarah Palin.
More recently Jackson has come under
fire from Republican legislators over
spending within the department.
Electric
rate hike to take effect April
16th
The Alaska Electric Light and Power emergency
rate
hike will take effect April 16th.
The Regulatory Commission of
Alaska has approved
AEL&P's amended filing with the RCA to postpone
implementation of the increased tariff
so it applies only for power consumed
after the April 16th avalanches.
So
AEL&P customers who had their
meters read the first week in April
won't have to pay higher utility rates
for the entire month of April.
The
higher rates will be calculated from
April 16th.
The
rate before the April 16th avalanches
was about 11 cents per kilowatt hour.
The current rate is about 52.5 cents per kilowatt
hour.
The emergency cost of power adjustment
rate will be the same as previously
approved, only the implementation date
will change.
The avalanches knocked down two
transmission towers and damaged several
others interrupting the flow of power
from the Snettisham hydroelectric dam.
Rally
planned to protest electric rates
A rally has been organized to protest
the AEL&P emergency rate hike.
Ashley Richardson is with the Juneau
Peoples Power Project.
She says the group is not saying to not
pay the bills, just the emergency
increase which amounts to about 40 cents
per kilowatt hour.
The group is circulating a petition
where signers say they will not pay the
for the rate hike. Richardson says
they're thinking if they get enough
signatures it might make a difference.
"It's not our responsibility that
they weren't insured and weren't keeping
up on this avalanche."
Richardson notes that AEL&P
customers have drastically reduced their
consumption of electricity and the
diesel fuel being burned to generate it
and that should be reflected in a lower
rate hike.
The day of the avalanches 84,147 gallons of diesel fuel were
consumed.
Last Tuesday, 46,355 gallons were
burned. A drop of nearly 40,000 gallons.
Richardson says "it's absurd' to be
told to get a loan to pay their
electrical bills.
She says AEL&P should "hold out
their hands to someone else".
She says it's not consumers fault that
AEL&P was not insured and weren't
keeping up with the potential avalanche
danger.
The rally and petition drive is
scheduled for this Friday at 3 p.m. on
the steps of the Capitol.
Juneau
Unplugged prepares application for
assistant with electric bills
The United Way has contracted with
Catholic Community Services to implement
the program to help the most vulnerable
Juneau residents pay their higher
electric bills.
One million dollars was initially
appropriated by the Assembly. Another
one point five million is potentially
available depending on how many apply.
The applications were finished today
(Thursday) and will be available at
Saturday's Reenergizing Juneau Forum at
the Mendenhall Mall.
Former City Manager Kevin Ritchie is
heading up the Juneau Unplugged program.
He says applications will be accepted
after May 16. In the meantime, its an
opportunity for eligible households to
review it and get the income
verification ready to submit along with
their electric bill and the application.
The guideline for eligibility is 200
percent of the federal poverty guideline
adjusted for Alaska. That means a single
person household could up to $26,000 per
year and a family of four could earn up
to $54,000.
There are three ways to verify
eligibility.
If applicants are already on public
assistance, Ritchie says the public
assistance program will provide them a
letter indicating they're already
qualified by income. He says those
agencies are sending their clients a
letter which he thinks will be out next
week. That letter should be attached to
the application and a copy of the
electric bill.
For those not receiving public
assistance, but within 200 percent of
the poverty line, Ritchie says they
should provide a copy of the first page
of the 2007 income return which shows
their income level and number of people
in the household. That should be
submitted with the application and a
copy of their electric bill.
There's also what Ritchie describes as a
special needs category involving people
who are above the 200 percent poverty
line, but who may have lost their job or
are struggling financially due to a
heath concern or other unusual expense.
He says a committee will be charged with
pouring over those applications.
Ritchie says plans call for covering 70
percent of the increase in the cost of
electricity.
Juneau Unplugged can be contacted by
calling 463-6130, but Ritchie says they
hope to make the application available
on the city and borough A-E-L and P web
sites as well as at libraries.
Public assistance agencies have also
agreed to send the application to their
clients.
Relief
fund looks to help others pay electric
bills
It's called the "Juneau Unplugged
Relief Fund.
It's a collaborative effort between the
United Way of Southeast Alaska and
KeyBank.
United Way President Brenda Hewitt says
it would create another pool of money in
addition to what was received from the
Assembly to help the most vulnerable of
residents deal with higher electric
rates.
But she says this supplemental money
will help address special circumstances
for those just above the 200 percent of
poverty line but are struggling
financially due to health concerns or a
loss of their job.
She says KeyBank will match donations up
to a cumulative total of $5,000.
United Way will oversee the effort.
Energy
use forum set for Saturday
Reenergizing Juneau, a community wide
forum on energy use in Juneau, is
planned Saturday.
It's presented by the CBJ Sustainability
Commission.
Chair Sarah Lewis says they want to
address as many of the concerns and
problems experienced by residents
associated with the energy crisis.
She says they want to provide tips for
energy conservation and offer
presentations on a wide variety of
energy related topics.
Experts and samples of energy saving
products will be available, as well as
information on financial assistance.
Lewis says the Juneau Economic
Development Council, Catholic Community
Services, and United Way are putting
together a program to help people who
will have trouble paying higher electric
bills.
The Reenergizing Juneau forum is
scheduled from 10 to 6 Saturday at the
Mendenhall Mall and the CBJ Valley
Library which is in the mall.
The Commission on Sustainability was
created by the Assembly last fall to
look at the best ways to utilize
Juneau's resources without destroying
their use for future generations.
The forum is scheduled from 10 to 6
Saturday at the Mendenhall Mall and the
CBJ Valley Library which is in the mall.
The Commission on Sustainability was
created by the Assembly last fall to
look at the best ways to utilize
Juneau's resources without destroying
their use for future generations.
Energy
plan in the works by Palin
Governor Palin says she will unveil a
plan next week to address the high cost
of energy.
Palin released a statement Wednesday
noting that record high oil prices are
adding to the state treasury while
Alaskans pay more for fuel.
She says medium- and long-term solutions
cannot wait.
The Alaska Energy Authority has been
working to identify ways to reduce the
burden of paying for fuel.
North Slope crude oil reached a record
over $123 per barrel this week.
Governor Palin says every month the
price remains over $120 per barrel adds
an extra $650 million to the state
treasury above what was forecast in
April.
Two
state Senators call for Department of
Corrections review
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Two Anchorage
lawmakers say the Legislature needs to
audit the state's Department of
Corrections.
Democratic Sens. Bill Wielechowski and
Hollis French have asked the state's
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee
to authorize the audit.
The two lawmakers say allegations of
unhealthy and unsafe conditions for
inmates and corrections officers drove
their concern.
This development was first reported by
KTVA -- CBS 11.
The Legislature's budget and audit
committee meets next Wednesday to vote
on the audit request.
The request comes a few weeks after a
vote by the corrections officers union
in which a majority registered
disapproval of Commissioner Joe
Schmidt's leadership.
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Information from: KTVA-TV
Anchorage
port workers start national security
enrollment
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Homeland
Security department says maritime
workers at the Port of Anchorage have
started signing up for an ID program
geared toward tightening up security
there.
Officials say the program is supposed to
ensure that anyone with unescorted
access to secure areas of port
facilities and vessels has received a
thorough background check.
Nationwide, more than 1.2 million
workers are slated to apply to the
program.
The Port of Anchorage is the 104th port
to begin enrollment.
Man
sentenced for sexual abuse of toddler
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska State
Troopers say a Shungnak man has been
sentenced to 10 years in prison and 15
years probation for sexually abusing a
toddler.
Troopers say 25-year-old Chester
Cleveland was sentenced in Kotzebue
court.
He was convicted in January for sexually
abusing a three year old boy he was
baby-sitting in 2006.
Judge Ben Esch says the sentence was
warranted given Cleveland's lack of
remorse.
Shungnak is a community of 260 people
located 150 miles east of Kotzebue.
Pelosi's complaint: Bush's answer is
to drill in ANWR
The pain at the pump is extending into
pain in Congress.
Congress is split Democrats versus
Republicans and the Bush Administration
on the way to deal with the energy
crisis.
House Democrats have sent a letter to
the president asking him among other
things to open up the strategic oil
reserve .
But, the president's response says
Speaker of the House Nancy "Pelosi
is drill in Alaska.
"They have plenty of
environmentally approved leases already
granted opportunities for drilling, but
they still want to make the fight over
ANWR."
Yet another record for North Slope
crude
Alaska North Slope oil for delivery to
the West Coast achieved another new
record today by a few cents.
It closed at $123.69 a barrel, up from
Wednesday's closed of $123.53.
ACLU
argues that state must provide sex
offenders treatment while in prison
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The American
Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is
arguing that the state must make
treatment for sex offenders available to
any prisoner who wants it.
The state has ended all sex offender
treatment for inmates.
Jason Brandeis is an ACLU attorney.
He says failure to provide treatment
adds up to a disregard of the state
Constitution and --quote--- "an
abdication of the Department of
Correction's responsibility to protect
the public."
A trial court judge had ordered
in-prison treatment and the ACLU urged
the Court of Appeals to uphold those
orders.
Democrat Jake Metcalfe drops out of
U.S. House race
By DAN JOLING - Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Democrat Jake
Metcalfe says he's dropping out of the
race for the nomination for U.S. House
from Alaska.
Metcalfe, the former chair of the
Democratic Party in Alaska, said
Wednesday his decision was tied to
fake Web sites that contained links to
Democratic rival Ethan Berkowitz.
The disputed Web sites contained
variations of Berkowitz's name but were
not associated with the candidate's
campaign.
When users clicked on the Web sites,
they were directed to pages that
attempted to portray Berkowitz as a
privileged California liberal or to gay
cultural sites in San Francisco.
Metcalfe determined that the smear
tactics used with the Web sites was
connected to someone in his campaign. He
said he called Berkowitz to apologize.
He said the controversy had become a
distraction and he was unable to
campaign.
Perseverance
Trail closed for blasting
Perseverance Trail is closed through
this Sunday.
Channel Construction crews will be
blasting away a landslide that occurred
over the winter.
Trail Mix Executive Director George
Schaaf says the contractor will be using
high explosives and heavy equipment.
$900,000 in grants and contributions
have been spent over the last two years
on improvements to the historic trail.
In
December of 2006, Trail Mix began work
on the Perseverance Trail fall to
replace rotting wood supports with a new
trail built directly on bedrock.
Workers
will also do some additional grading
work and begin installation of a safety
rail along portions of the trail with
very steep slopes.
Griffin:
Good time for ice field helicopter
landing review
The Forest Service conducts a public
hearing this evening to hear a report
from its environmental consultant on
helicopter landings on the Juneau
Icefield.
Juneau Ranger Pete Griffin says Tetra
Tech Corporation has been looking at
several pieces of new information over
the last couple of months since he made
the helicopter landings decision in
2002.
There were about 17,000 landings on the
ice field last year which is well below
the 22,000 approved in Griffin's 2002
decision.
Griffin says back then they said they
would review that decision and
additional information that's come to
light in five years time. He's says
they're a little bit late, but 2008 is a
good time to do the review.
The hearing is scheduled from 5 to 8
p.m. at the downtown public library.
Junk
vehicle roundup wraps up
The CBJ Spring junk vehicle roundup reached
its goal of 400 cars before ten this
morning. (Thursday)
The free disposal junk car program started Monday.
Judy Harvey, the manager of the city's
junk vehicle program, says they reached
the limit sooner than expected.
It used to be a one day event. The city
decided this year to spread it over
several days until the budgeted number
were brought in.
Another round up is tentatively
anticipated for the fall.
The program is funded by CBJ funds and a
motor vehicle tax.
Last year's round up cost about
$400,000.
Miller Construction apparent low bid
for track and field at new high school
Bids were opened Wednesday for
the track and field at the new Thunder
Mountain High School.
The apparent low bidder was Miller
Construction at $3,339,580.
The engineer's estimate with additive
alternates $3,696,000.
Arete Construction was the other bidder.
Its bid came in at $3,793,000.
School District Facilities Planning
Coordinator Deb Morse says the bid is
scheduled to be submitted to the
Assembly for approval at its meeting
Monday night.
She says the "Notice to
Proceed" will be going out after
the bid gains that approval.
Work is scheduled to start this summer.
She says placing the turf on the field
might slip until early Spring. She says
a lot of it depends on the weather in
October.
Wasilla woman to be extradited to
Colorado on for murder of baby
PALMER, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska woman
charged with the death of her newborn is
resisting extradition to Colorado.
Twenty-two-year-old Morgan Hite has been
charged with first-degree murder and
child abuse. Authorities say she
secretly delivered a baby in Colorado.
Hite says she wants to talk with her
attorney before going to a state that
has the death penalty.
Man
accused in killing seeks release
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - A man who is
accused of slitting the throat of a
mental health worker in Fairbanks wants
release from a psychiatric facility in
Anchorage.
Fifty-one-year-old Brian Galbraith is
institutionalized in the Alaska
Psychiatric Institute. His request comes
a month after a murder charge was
dropped when Fairbanks Superior Court
Judge Robert Downes declared him
incompetent to stand trial.
Galbraith has been treated for paranoid
schizophrenia since at least 1980. He
was staying in a group home in Fairbanks
when authorities say he killed
32-year-old Genine Holznagel-Leary.
The institute's clinical director, Larry
Maile, says an Anchorage judge will have
to determine that Galbraith poses an
imminent threat to others.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Alaska part top Facebook deal
Alaska is among 48 other states and
Washington D. C. that has reached an
agreement with the popular social
networking site Facebook to make the
site safer for underage users.
It will mean stricter security on the
site.
The changes include banning convicted
sex offenders, limiting older users from
being able to search for subscribers
under 18, and building a task force to
bind better ways to verify user's ages.
Alaska
has lowest rate of fatal falls in 65+
age group
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A report from
the National Safety Council says Alaska
has the lowest death rate from
accidental falls among people over age
65.
The rate was highest in New Mexico at 99
deaths per 100,000.
In Alaska it was 15 per 100,000.
The National Safety Council says a fall
is now the leading cause of injury
deaths nationwide in that age group.
25
emaciated dogs taken from property near
Palmer
PALMER, Alaska (AP) - Twenty-five
emaciated dogs have been rescued in the
last two days from two properties on
Lazy Mountain by the Matanuska-Susitna
Borough Animal Care.
Officials say many of the dogs are so
thin and dehydrated that they need
intravenous fluids. Many had a variety
of injuries.
They say the dogs, all husky mixes, were
confiscated from Doug Bartko. They say
several dead dogs were also found on
Bartko's property.
Anchorage TV station KTUU says Bartko is
a former musher who ran the Iditarod 24
years ago.
Animal Care has cited Bartko for five
counts of interference with an
investigation and ten counts of failure
to provide humane animal care.
Additional charges are pending.
Officials say the case has pushed the
dog population over capacity at the
shelter.
They are reducing adoption fees as a
result.
One Wing passes on
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A bald eagle
known as One Wing, which survived the
Exxon Valdez oil spill, has died.
One Wing lived at the Bird Treatment and
Learning Center.
A veterinarian who performed a necropsy
says a tumor was found on One Wing's
heart.
The bird was called One Wing because
when he was poisoned by crude in the
1989 spill, he fought rescuers so hard
he tore up his wing beating it against
the ground.
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(Copyright ©2008
Alaska Juneau
Communications - KINY Radio)
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