Ketchikan: Never to young to learn life-saving lessons By Marie L. Monyak - Over a dozen preschool age children, accompanied by a parent, took advantage of an exciting free tour of the Ketchikan Fire Department sponsored by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Parks and Recreation Preschool Program on Tuesday. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

National: Program to turn plutonium bombs into fuel hits snags By LISA ZAGAROLI - As President Bush seeks to ensure that other countries wanting to use nuclear energy do so without creating weapons-grade material, the United States' plan to reduce its own stock of bomb-quality plutonium is behind schedule and has more than tripled in cost.

The program, referred to as MOX for the mixed oxide blend that would be converted into energy, has been slowed for a host of reasons, including partner Russia's unwillingness to agree to U.S. terms on liability as well as delays and cost overruns in the design phase of the plant at the Savannah River Site in Aiken County, S.C. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

National: U.S. may ban krill fishing for sea's sake By JANE KAY - Federal regulators are considering for the first time a West Coast ban on fishing for some of the ocean's tiniest creatures, the shrimplike krill that support a vast food web of fish, seabirds and whales.

After warming ocean waters and a drop in krill numbers last spring set off a domino effect of sea life deaths, a group that advises the U.S. Department of Commerce on fishing regulations is expected today to limit the fishing of krill in federal waters, 200 miles from shore. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

National: Federal bill could wipe out state food-safety laws By LANCE GAY - Consumer groups are fighting federal legislation giving Washington veto power over food-safety laws in the states.

They say more than 200 such state laws - ranging from those prohibiting sales of raw milk to warnings about eating raw seafood - would be wiped away by the legislation.

The food industry, which is pushing for the change, says the measure aims to establish a unified national policy for food labeling by requiring states to gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any food-safety laws. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

National: Protestors march on Capitol to oppose immigration bill By M.E. SPRENGELMEYER - Tens of thousands of immigrant workers rallied outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, protesting what they consider hateful legislation targeting illegal immigration.

A coalition of labor unions, churches and community groups organized the rally against H.R. 4437, a strict border-control and immigration enforcement bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives late last year. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

National: Poll finds Americans concerned about government secrecy By THOMAS HARGROVE and GUIDO H. STEMPEL III - Most Americans think the federal government operates with "too much secrecy" and overwhelmingly believe that public access to official records is critical to democracy, according to a Scripps Howard News Service poll.

First Amendment advocates hailed the findings of the survey of 1,007 adult residents of the United States conducted at the request of the American Society of Newspaper Editors as part of its observance of National Sunshine Week, which starts Sunday. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Health-Fitness: Training can boost seniors' exercise efficiency By LEE BOWMAN - Older people usually have to work harder than younger folks to walk fast or perform other exertions, but a new study suggests that training can help boost exercise efficiency in the elderly.

Researchers in Seattle found that a thrice-weekly, 90-minute training program done over three to six months made a group of seniors nearly a third more efficient at exercising than they were before training.

"Exercise efficiency" refers to the percentage of energy expended by the body that's converted to actual mechanical output. Exercise capacity is a measurement of how much exercise a person can do before becoming exhausted, as during a treadmill stress test. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 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 Retirement Insecurity: Bad for Alaskans By Sen. Johnny Ellis - Wednesday PM Troubled youth By Rhonda Ball - Wednesday PM Students Must Take Quick Action to Avoid Being Hosed By C. Victoria Patrick - Wednesday PM Insecure Americans By Virginia E. Atkinson - Wednesday PM Sallie Mae should change its name to Bullie Mae By C. Victoria Patrick - Wednesday PM 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 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

Alaska: Focus on the Family starts phone campaign in Alaska By RICHARD RICHTMYER - A national conservative Christian advocacy group has jumped into Alaska's political battle over gay-partner employment benefits.

Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., began calling people Monday. With an automated phone system, it asks whether people support or oppose a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would nullify a court decision that ordered the state to pay such benefits.

If they say they oppose the amendment, the call is ended. Those who say they support it are directed to call six state senators, including the Senate majority leader, that the group has identified as potentially obstructing the measure, said Peter Brandt, Focus on the Family's director of government and public policy. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Alaska: "Flatfish" to join "Shrimp Hawks" at national ocean science competition; Avalanche inspires students to make the most of education experience - When February avalanches closed the only road to Seward, Alaska, the Cordova High School team "Flatfish" found themselves floundering on the wrong side of the snow slide and unable to finish a regional marine science competition for which they had spent months preparing.

Their determination to make the best of the situation has netted them an invitation to attend the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) championship.

Cordova students Mckenzie Herring, Leif Stavig, Lee Collins, and Christopher Hager, together with coach Kate Alexander, will go to the NOSB finals May 13­15 in Pacific Grove, California, thanks to grants from the Alaska Sea Grant College Program, the Prince William Sound Science Center and local sponsors. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Jason Love: Sperm Count - My wife and I are shooting for a baby. Trouble is, I seem to be shooting blanks. I called Dr. Klope for a sperm count, which always struck me as tedious work. Can you see the poor guy on the microscope?

"1,634 ... 1,635 ... no, wait, I already counted that one..."

Dr. Klope had one opening, eight a.m., which is entirely too early for sperm. A man can wake up with driftwood on his beach, but that doesn't mean he's ready to make a fire. It's usually noon before I can manage a French kiss. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Steve Brewer: Take the remote control fitness test - If you want to know whether you're out of shape, take this simple test: Count the number of remote controls you have lying around your house.

If the number exceeds, say, four, then you're probably not getting enough exercise. If it exceeds six, you don't need a mirror to tell you that your jeans are too tight. Ten or more remotes mean you're lucky your heart still beats.

The remote control is one labor-saving device that does its job all too well. It's possible to keep ourselves entertained in countless ways without ever moving from the sofa. The only muscles many of us work with any regularity are the ones that move our thumbs. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Dale McFeatters: Son of line-item veto - It's rather late in the game for President Bush to get tough on federal spending, which has risen by nearly half on his watch, but the president, as promised, has proposed a useful approach - the line-item veto.

He has asked Congress for this authority before, but this time his proposal is in the form of specific legislation and it has the support, however sincerely or insincerely, of the Republican congressional leadership.

If Congress does give the president this new authority, it would constitute a significant reversal by lawmakers. In 2004, the House soundly defeated, 174-237, a much-diluted form of line-item authority. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Dick Morris: The Clintons Pass In The Night - Bill and Hillary Clinton are the first couple to appear simultaneously and independently on the national political stage. They are using their special circumstances as a convenient shield for one another, fulfilling, at once, Hillary's dream of no accountability and Bill's of being able to take both sides of an issue.

Did Hillary know that Bill was pardoning the FALN terrorists to help her win Puerto Rican votes in New York? Oh, she was opposed to the pardon.

Did Hillary find out that Bill was granting pardons to felons and drug dealers who had hired her brothers for six-figure fees to lobby her husband for pardons right under her nose? No way. In fact she was "saddened" at her brothers' involvement.

And we all know that Hillary was "gasping for breath" when she first learned the truth about Monica Lewinsky. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006

Rob Holston: Predisposition to Obesity - Predisposition to obesity is often a misunderstood or misused phrase when it comes to healthcare. Because obesity is a growing (no pun intended) health concern in America over the past 20+ years, it demands discussion and understanding. Family traits can offer us some great insight into health conditions that we might be confronted with in our future. Many times, however, it seems folks use a "diagnosed" predisposition as an excuse instead of an incentive. "My mom was fat and my dad was too, so how can I help it. It's just the way I am." Instead of seeing predisposition as a sentence being imposed upon us, we should see it as a friendly warning sign that inspires us to adopt a lifestyle of right choices that will provide the best possible health and life expectancy. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 08, 2006