Craig: Judge drops all charges against Alaska teen accused of killing her mother  By Harriet Ryan Court TV - A judge in Juneau, Alaska, dismissed all charges against Rachelle Waterman in connection with her mother's murder at a hearing Tuesday, saying testimony at the honor student's trial earlier this year cast serious doubts about the reliability of incriminating statements the girl made during a police interrogation. - Read this Court TV story... Court TV - www.courttv.com Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

Ketchikan: Council to consider water disinfection evaluation - A special Ketchikan City Council meeting is scheduled today to consider a presentation by CH2M-Hill regarding their evaluation of a potential municipal water supply disinfection program.

The Ketchikan City Council adopted a motion on August 04, 2005, directing General Manager Karl Amylon to enter into a contract with CH2M-Hill to evaluate a potential municipal water supply disinfection by-products reduction program using ammonia injection and ultraviolet light disinfection. Cost of the evaluation contract was not to exceed $78,000. - More & Evaluation Report...
Tuesday AM - March 07, 2006

National: Anti-abortion battle moves to states By MARGARET TALEV - First a celebration, then a fight over strategy, now a campaign on two fronts.

That's how the nation's anti-abortion movement has reacted since South Dakota last month became the first state among 10 contenders to pass a ban on abortion in order to test a shifting U.S. Supreme Court.

Many pro-life leaders disagree with South Dakota's timing. They say even with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito now on the court, a 5-4 majority to uphold Roe v. Wade, the landmark case from 1973 that blocked states from outlawing abortion, likely remains. They are instead focusing on legislation less likely to divide voters or to be thrown out in court - urging ultrasounds before an abortion, or regulating medical building and equipment standards in ways that could shutter clinics unable to get up to code. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

National: Teacher who compared Bush to Hitler wanted class to 'think' By KEVIN VAUGHAN - Jay Bennish made it clear what he hoped to accomplish in the classroom when he applied for a job with Cherry Creek schools 5 1/2 years ago.

"My primary objectives as a teacher," he wrote on his job application, "are to encourage the students to think for themselves, to critically analyze the world in which they live in order to create a more democratic society."

Bennish, 28, now finds himself at the center of an ongoing philosophical storm, one that revolves around the question of whether he tried to get students to think for themselves or whether he tried to think for them. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Science: Researchers predict powerful sunspots By LEE BOWMAN - Solar researchers are predicting that the next cycle of sunspots, flares and magnetic storms from the sun will be the most powerful and active seen in nearly 50 years.

According to a new computer model tracking the long-term dynamics of magnetic energy as it moves around our star, along with historical analysis of sunspot activity, solar eruptions are more likely to disrupt communications, power grids and spacecraft.

Solar cycles may also have subtle effects on long-term weather patterns on the Earth, although those influences are still poorly understood. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Science: Hummingbird has sweet smarts By DAWN WALTON - It seems birdbrains are smarter than we thought.

Researchers have discovered that the tiny rufous hummingbird, which each day feeds on hundreds of flowers containing just a fraction of a drop of nectar, has a mighty memory that can pinpoint the location of the flowers it has visited and when the nectar in each would be replenished.

"Not bad for a bird with a brain 7,000 times smaller than our own," said Andrew Hurly, a biology professor at the University of Lethbridge, who co-wrote the groundbreaking study published in Tuesday's issue of the journal Current Biology. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Sea Anenome Front Page Photo By Jodi Muzzana

Alaska: Governor Signs Absentee Ballot Bill - Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski on Monday signed Senate Bill 36, which protects the confidentiality and integrity of the by-mail absentee ballot application and process.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Gene Therriault (R-North Pole), requires that requests for absentee ballots by mail be submitted directly by the absentee voter to the Division of Elections. The bill also mandates the approval by the director of the Division of Elections of any absentee ballot request forms that do not come directly from the division. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Alaska: Permanent fund fraud investigation reveals insurance theft - The State of Alaska's Division of Insurance and Permanent Fund Dividend Division announced today that a joint investigation was conducted into the criminal activities of 38-year-old Anchorage resident June E. Freeman. Freeman was recently sentenced to jail time and was ordered to pay restitution for insurance theft and falsification of her Permanent Fund Dividend application.

Insurance Director Linda Hall said the prosecution of Freeman should be a deterrent for others thinking of perpetrating theft crimes. "When someone knowingly submits false information with the state or to an insurance agency to get more money than is owed, there are real consequences," said Hall. "We have the will and the way to prosecute these crimes that ultimately cost other Alaskans in higher premiums or a reduced share of the PFD." - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Hole found in Prudhoe Bay line, crude oil source under control Spill workers unplugging clogged pump. Photo Credit: Unified Command Photo March 07, 2006

Alaska: Hole found in Prudhoe Bay line, crude oil source under control - Work crews in Alaska found and isolated the hole in Prudhoe Bay's Gathering Center 2 (GC2) line and work continues to develop a permanent repair according to officials. In addition, work crews are developing a plan to clear the line of all remaining oil if it becomes necessary.

The hole is located approximately 16'8" inside the caribou crossing and sits at the bottom of the line. The hole is approximately 1/4 inch in diameter. Work crews have isolated the crude source and a temporary patch is in place. Early indications point to internal corrosion as the cause of the breach; however, an in-depth investigation is underway to determine the exact cause. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Alaska: Accounts conflict in Boy Scout accident report By KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY - An Alaska Boy Scout leader might have chosen the specific spot where a tent was erected beneath electrical lines at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, a federal report suggests.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration report also states it would have cited the Boy Scouts of America for a workplace-safety violation in the electrocution of four Alaska troop leaders at the jamboree if the adult leaders had been employed by the organization.

"We don't have any jurisdiction over the Boy Scouts because [the troop leaders] were volunteers," said Charles T. Pope, an OSHA spokesman in Norfolk. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Opinion Poll Web Polls Are Not Scientific Polls On April 11th city voters will have an opportunity to vote on the City of Ketchikan's $38.5 million port improvement bond. How would you vote? View Poll Stats Viewpoints Opinions/Letters SCHOOL BOARD MEETING PUBLIC AWARENESS By Charles Edwardson - Tuesday PM More ideas and thoughts on the Permanent Fund By Rudy McGillvray - Tuesday PM Media Reporting of Per Diem Scandalous by Rep. Vic Kohring - Tuesday PM INFORMING THE VOTERS By Bobbie McCreary - Tuesday PM SUPPORT OUR ECONOMY BY VOTING YES ON THE PORT IMPROVEMENT BOND VOTE, APRIL 11TH. By Chris Parks - Monday PM Next Alaskan Generations will Reap Billions by Sen. John Cowdery - Monday PM CONNOR PIHL INSIGHT KUDOS By Pete Ellis - Monday PM Criminal DNA Database Expansion Working In Alaska by Rep. Tom Anderson - Monday PM Fun with Math - Alaska Airlines By John Maki - Monday PM "APPLAUSE" regarding the School District's financial scrutiny By Rick Grams - Monday PM New After School Policy By Connor Pihl - Saturday PM What lessons will they learn? By David Hull - Saturday PM What message are we sending to our student athletes? By Matt Olsen - Saturday PM Ugliest Photo Contest! By Robert D. Warner - Saturday PM It does take a village By Tonia J. Nebl - Saturday PM Veil of secrecy By Mary Lynne Dahl - Saturday PM Bond poll: Why I voted NO! By Jim Dornblaser - Saturday PM BRAVO KAYHI TEACHERS! By Lynne Miller - Saturday PM Emerald Bay By Evening Star Grutter - Saturday PM Spraying of Long Island By Jean Bland - Saturday PM Pro dock expansion By Tom Ferry - Saturday PM Desecration Bridge By Don Hoff Jr. - Saturday PM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan March 07, 2006 - Tuesday - 7:00 pm - Special City Council Meeting - City Council Chambers. Presentation by CH2M regarding the evaluation of a potential municipal water supply disinfection by-products reduction program using ammonia injection and ultraviolet light disinfection. Agenda & Information Packets March 09, 2006 - Thursday - 5:30 - 7:30 pm - Planning for the Newtown Area. Everyone in Ketchikan is welcome. Ketchikan Historical Assoc. Flyer March Calendar Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements March 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S 26  27 28 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31   Front Page Archives

Ketchikan: Arts This Week In Ketchikan - This week in Ketchikan enjoy Ballroom dancing at the Rec Center! Join Instructor Jerry Pierce for dancing and lessons on March 10th at the Rec Center from 7 -9pm nights. A suggested donation of $5 will be accepted at the door.

Chaps! It's 1944 and Tex Riley and America's favorite singing cowboys are late for a special broadcast, and things go terribly awry. Don't miss your opportunity to watch the drama and hilarity unfold at Cape Fox Lodge on March 10th, 11th, 17th and 18th. Call Cape Fox for tickets 225-8001, and call FCP for more info 225-4792. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Jay Ambrose: A law school farce - Take a look at the recent Supreme Court case on law schools refusing to allow military recruiters on campus, and what you conclude first off is that these are institutions not of higher learning, but of higher hypocrisy. What you conclude next is that the last thing they have any respect for is law, even though they teach it.

Some three dozen schools in a coalition said their First Amendment rights of free speech and association were violated by having these recruiters on campus because, you see, the military has a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals that the schools abhor.

Fine. Federal law requires you to let these recruiters set up shop at your school only if the university takes federal assistance. If their presence offends you - if you think human dignity and your honor are at stake - the university can forsake the loot and tell them to go away. It can be a ton of money, and the university as a whole would suffer, but what is money next to principle? Either the universities are less exercised by principle than all the rhetoric would indicate, or else they are demonstrating that souls can be purchased for a sufficient amount of lucre. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Dale McFeatters: And the solution is - free speech - It would be interesting this week to be in the classrooms of the law schools belonging to the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights to hear the professors explain how they lost - got whacked, really - 8-0 in a high profile case before the Supreme Court.

With Chief Justice John Roberts writing the opinion, the court said that colleges that accept federal money - and it's almost all colleges and a lot of money, about $35 billion a year - must allow military recruiters on campus and allow them the same access and facilities as other recruiters.

This ruling should settle a decade-long dispute, going back to 1996 when Congress passed the Solomon amendment in response to the growing practice of law schools barring military recruiters. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Solon Economou: Power plants and wind farms, move over - tree power has arrived. A Massachusetts firm has developed a power-generating system that draws electricity from an abundant, eminently renewable and virtually free source: trees.

MagCap Engineering, of Canton, Mass. - a custom designer and manufacturer of magnetics for the broadcast, telecommunications, microwave, defense and energy industries - has filed for a patent for the "alternative electric-power generating system," in collaboration with its inventor, Gordon Wadle.

The electrical energy generated by trees is not of the magnitude to supply the electrical grids that power cities and towns, but sufficient for a wide variety of uses, such as charging batteries for any type of vehicle (including hybrids and electric cars) and producing household power through an alternate-current converter. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Dan K. Thomasson: Congressional reform? Don't bet on it - The verdict is still out on whether Congress truly is the best money can buy, although the evidence is heavily weighted toward that being the case.

There still is time to turn things around when the Senate takes up two major but watered down lobbying reform bills this week. But if the recent rejection by a Senate committee of a bipartisan proposal to establish an office that would oversee the enforcement of ethics and lobbying laws is any indication, redemption won't happen. The committee vote wasn't even close - 11 to 5 against - pretty much making it clear that even the shadow of Jack Abramoff isn't as long as one might imagine when it comes to what really counts, money.

Initially, of course, there was a rush to return contributions Abramoff had directed from Indian tribes and elsewhere into the campaign coffers of a great number of congressmen, mainly Republicans but also some big-time Democrats. This was accompanied by pledges from leaders of both chambers, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, that there would be meaningful alterations in dealings with those seeking to purchase their own private lawmakers. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006

Martin Schram: Rare comity in an age of bitter partisanship - There may be hope for Washington yet. We may have found a solution for reversing the partisan politics of hate that has crippled governance in the nation's capital.

Call it the X Factor. Or more accurately, the "Ex" Factor.

The Ex-Factor: While Washington's top Republicans and Democrats seem incapable of halting their political food-fight to find compromise solutions for our problems, Washington's most prominent ex-officials have been demonstrating that there is nothing in the DNA of elephants and donkeys that prevents peaceful and even constructive coexistence. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 07, 2006