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National: U.S. Senate at impasse on immigration bill By CAROLYN LOCHHEAD - The compromises emerging from closed-door efforts to forge a Senate consensus on immigration have even ardent supporters of changing the law wondering whether the current dysfunctional system might not be so bad after all.

The Senate impasse offers a vivid demonstration of how daunting, politically and practically, it is to solve the issue of 12 million human beings living illegally in the country. Their existence is the result of past compromises and their unintended consequences, stretching over several decades and rooted in a long history of divided public opinion that veers spasmodically between nativism and inclusion.

Congress last overhauled U.S. immigration law in 1986, providing amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants, half the illegal population at the time, but without expanding future legal ways of entering the country. Within 10 years, the illegal population had rebounded, and Congress passed another law attempting to toughen border enforcement, pouring money into the Border Patrol and building a fence in San Diego, among other things. Another decade has passed, and the illegal population has reached the size of the population of Ohio. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

National: Two in Homeland Security now charged with child sex crimes By LISA HOFFMAN - It's called "Operation Predator," a high-priority Department of Homeland Security program that does battle against those who prey sexually on children.

Now, with the arrest Tuesday night of a department deputy secretary, at least two of the agency's own top personnel stand charged with just such offenses.

"It hammers home the fact that these individuals can be anywhere," said John Shehan, of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which works closely with Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau.

Brian Doyle, deputy press secretary to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, faces 23 counts of using a computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor. He was caught in a police Internet sting in which a detective pretended to be a 14-year-old girl. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

National: Judge: Flight 93 tape can be aired during Moussaoui sentencing By GREG GORDON - Prosecutors won the right Wednesday to play publicly, for the first time, the cockpit voice recorder from the hijacked Sept. 11 jetliner that crashed in Pennsylvania after a passenger insurrection.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she will allow the tape and a transcript of the chaotic ending to United Airlines Flight 93 to be presented to the jury next week in Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing trial.

It will be part of prosecutors' presentation of graphic evidence of the cruelty and inhumanity of the Sept. 11 attacks as they push for the jury to issue a death sentence in the trial's second phase starting Thursday. The 37-year-old al Qaeda conspirator was found eligible for a death sentence on Monday. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

Discovering The Geology of Ketchikan Audience members looking over rock samples, reference materials and the USGS map in the background. Front Page Photo by Marie L. Monyak

Ketchikan: Discovering The Geology of Ketchikan By MARIE L. MONYAK - Road builders blast them, children throw them, gardeners curse at them and collectors pick them up. What are they? Why rocks of course! And as most local know, Revillagigedo Island is one large mass protruding from the ocean which earned it the knick-name "The Rock."

This past Friday evening the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center sponsored their weekly Friday Night Insight Program to a large crowd gathered in their comfortable theatre. The guest speaker was Julie Rowe who gave a highly informative presentation on "History in Rocks - The Geology of Ketchikan."

Rowe works as a U. S. Forest Service Recreation Specialist but spoke as a private citizen using her past experience as an Interpretive Park Ranger and her education in Evolutionary Biology and Geology to educate those present on how and why Revillagigedo Island came to be.

The defining word in that last statement was Evolutionary. Rowe started her presentation at the very beginning, a time in Earth's history when Alaska did not exist. Those in attendance that possessed a basic understanding of geology found it easy to follow along with Rowe as she progressed from the Cenozoic Age through to present day. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

Saturday Market Rapidly Gaining Popularity in Ketchikan Ashley Glenn and Larissa Figley of Stellar Creations Front Page Photo by Marie L. Monyak

Ketchikan: Saturday Market Rapidly Gaining Popularity in Ketchikan By MARIE L. MONYAK - There was no shortage of excitement at the Plaza Mall this past Saturday as shoppers were surrounded by clowns, balloons, games, raffles, food sellers and craft booths.

The Plaza Mall merchants were holding their quarterly Customer Appreciation Day with super sales, coupons and prizes. Occurring simultaneously was a relatively new event which provided even more selection for local shoppers, known as the Saturday Market which is held the first Saturday of every month.

In addition to the well-known permanent merchants, craft sellers lined the aisles of the first floor with their tables brimming with handmade wares while food sellers tempted hungry shoppers with their tantalizing treats. The second floor was just as active where local residents set up tables laden with new and used items waiting to find a new home.

The Plaza Mall's Saturday Market (held the first Saturday of the month) is rapidly gaining popularity in Ketchikan. On the first floor, local crafters are able to rent space to display hand made treasures or food items for sale.

Crafters offered a wide variety of goods to satisfy the most discriminating taste. From crocheted blankets to Native art, beaded jewelry to hunting knives, there was something for everyone. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Port Bond. Risk or investment? By Dennis Pope- Thursday The Draft- Another View By Jerry Cegelske- Thursday The courage to vote NO! By Robert D. Warner- Thursday Open letter to Klukwan Inc. Shareholders By Rob Sanderson Jr.- Thursday Drugs-Freedom By Catlin Rettke- Thursday A warning collects no fines. By Hunter Davis- Thursday Clarification with Senator Elton By A. M. Johnson - Thursday Thank you Senators and Representatives By Frances Natkong Why the draft would be insulting By Rick Grams - Tuesday PM Sex Offender Bill By A.M. Johnson - Tuesday PM Vote no By Patti Fay Hickox - Tuesday PM Big Oil... By Marty West - Tuesday PM Thank You By Dawn Hockett - Tuesday PM A DISCUSSION OF SIMPLE By David G. Hanger - Tuesday PM Expiration notices By Chris Elliott - Tuesday PM Child Abuse Laws By Terri Haught-Sirbaugh - Tuesday PM "Taxes are bad" ads by Big Oil By Samuel Bergeron - Monday PM Sex Offender Bill Reflects Alaska's Values by Senator Con Bunde & Senator Gretchen Guess - Monday PM Benefit Dinner For Jessie Chapman By Pat Chapman - Monday PM North Tongass Community Club By Tony Yeisley - Monday PM Dead lefties? By George Miller - Monday PM Thank you Ketchikan By GAYLOR SMITH-HORTON - Monday PM Vehicle registration By Jerry Cegelske - Monday PM Was war with Iraq our nation's only course?  By Sam Osborne - Monday PM Service to our country; It's now your generation's challenge By Mike Harpold- Sunday Move the Capital or save a life? By David Hull - Sunday Support bond with YES vote on April 11 By Mike Dooley- Sunday Ketchikan, an adventure of a lifetime By Vicki O'Brien - Sunday Re: Time for a draft By Ken Lewis - Sunday DEAD LEFTIES By David G. Hanger - Sunday Troubled Youth By Ericka Heard-Rabon - Sunday Alternate energy source needed By Karl Themann - Sunday Support bond with YES vote on April 11 By Zig Ziegler - Saturday AM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan April 6, 2006, 7:00 pm - City Council Meeting - City Council Chambers Agenda & Information Packet April 7, 2006 @ 2:00pm - Teleconference meeting Friday, at the Legislative Information Office, 50 Front Street, Suite 203. The Senate Finance Committee will meet to discuss HB365 - "An Act making appropriations for the operating and loan program expenses of state government, for certain programs, and to capitalize funds; making appropriations for state aid to public schools, centralized correspondence study, and transportation of pupils; and providing for an effective date." April 11, 2006 Special Election Port of Ketchikan Improvements Project - Detailed Project Description; Ask A Question, Get an Answer; Special Election Information; and much more... April 13, 2006 at 5:30 - Democratic caucus for those interested in developing a local platform and organizing the local democratic party - IBEW building on Stedman, contact Micheal Hyre 617-0238 for information. March Calendar Arts This Week Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map City Police Report 04/04/06 AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements April 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S 26 27 28 29 30 31 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: Governor Praises Passage of SB 218; Encourages conference committee action on meth/marijuana bill - Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski Wednesday praised House passage of Senate Bill 218. The legislation had previously passed the Senate, paving the way for transmittal to the governor's desk.

"I want to thank Senator Bunde for his tireless work on this critical issue. Keeping our children safe from sexual predators is one of the most important obligations of government and of society," said the governor. "I also want to thank the Departments of Corrections, Law and Public Safety for their roles in this process."

The legislation increases sentencing for the most egregious unclassified and Class A sexual felonies against a minor to a minimum sentence of 25 years and increases sentencing for unclassified and Class A sexual felonies against an adult to a minimum of 20 years. The bill also restructures and increases sentencing for Class B and Class C sexual offenses and requires periodic polygraph testing for sex offenders on probation and parole. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

Alaska: Public information request turns up heat on Murkowski administration - Sen. Hollis French (D-Anchorage) on Wednesday delivered a public records request to Gov. Frank Murkowski, urging the administration to finally release the long-touted but as yet unseen natural gas pipeline contract.

Several legislators on both sides of the aisle have expressed frustration with the administration's refusal to release the pipeline contract.  The frustration springs from the strong suggestions from Murkowski and others that the contract is linked to the historic oil tax reform legislation now being debated in House and Senate committees.
 
The governor announced that a pipeline agreement had been reached when he delivered his oil tax reform (PPT) bills to the Legislature in late February. Since that time, Murkowski has vacillated on the degree of linkage between the tax reform and the gas pipeline contract. The governor has also been ambiguous about whether or not the contract is actually complete. He has suggested that should the Legislature change the 20/20 tax to credit formula in his bill, the major producers would pull out of the gasline contract. At the same time, Murkowski has said he would release the contract to the Legislature only after the PPT vote is completed. He has claimed a confidentiality clause in the Stranded Gas Act prevents the administration from releasing the contract. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

Alaska: Governor Announces Measures to Ensure Pipeline Integrity - Motivated by his visit to the North Slope last week to view cleanup at BP's GC-2 spill site, Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski directed the Department of Environmental Conservation to assemble an Arctic Pipeline Technology Team and called for a corrosion conference to ensure the integrity of oil pipeline infrastructure and continued crude oil production.

"Our North Slope pipelines must be monitored and maintained to the highest standards," said the governor. "These measurable steps will ensure the best minds, technologies and practices are employed in the design, operation and maintenance of these pipelines."

The Arctic Pipeline Technology Team will be created by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Natural Resources, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the federal Office of Pipeline Safety. The team will work with industry and other government or non-governmental professionals with expertise in arctic pipeline engineering on leak detection, corrosion prevention, monitoring and inspection. The team will share technical resources and information related to pipeline integrity in arctic and sub-arctic climates. It will troubleshoot design, construction, operation and maintenance problems, validate engineering approaches, examine the regulatory regime and recommend changes to reflect latest technologies, and ensure the best available technology is being applied to Alaska's North Slope pipeline system. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

Health-Fitness: Red hot chili peppers may help fight cancer, study finds By LEE BOWMAN - Researchers are rolling out the spice rack against cancer with studies showing that ginger and the "hot" element in red chili peppers induce tumor cells to die.

But a separate review of studies evaluating the use of soy supplements against breast cancer finds the evidence of benefit slight.

The ginger and chili-pepper studies were presented Tuesday during the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh did the chili-pepper study, working with mice to show that capsaicin, the active "hot" ingredient in the pepper, causes pancreatic cancer cells to die through the body's normal process for clearing defective cells.

"We discovered that capsaicin fed orally to mice with human pancreatic tumors was an extremely effective inhibitor of the cancer process, inducing apoptosis (natural cell death) in cancer cells," said Sanjay Srivastava, an assistant professor of pharmacology at Pitt and lead author of the study. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006

Health-Fitness: Want to feel better? Make some friends By LEE BOWMAN - There's tremendous comfort in having a family member or trusted friend around to help us through an illness, whether it's a ride to the doctor or just someone around to replenish the tissue box and check on us now and then.

The fact is, misery does love company. And the evidence has been mounting for some time that getting well and staying healthy are helped along by having strong social connections.

Consider three studies just out in a week's time:

- Breast cancer patients who lacked close relatives, friends or children were up to five times more likely to die of their breast cancer than women with breast cancer who had 10 or more friends of relatives or six or more children, found one analysis of 2,800 women diagnosed with breast cancer who took part in the Nurses Health Study. - More...
Thursday - April 06, 2006