Ketchikan: Ketchikan Hot Shots League Officially Open For Battles On New Field - "The Grand Opening of Ketchikan Hot Shots Paintball League paintball field was an outstanding success!," said Ty Rettke, President of the Ketchikan Hot Shots Paintball League and Ketchikan Youth Initiatives.

Rettke said of the 24 teams that entered the three-person team tournament held Sunday, Team F.E.A.R came out on top, winning 100 dollars cash From Cellular One, a $50 Gift Certificate from Ward Creek Industrial, and a $24 Gift Certificate from Movie Gallery for each team member. The A-Team walked away in Second Place, with $50 cash each, from Cellular One. And in Third Place was True Karma, with each team member getting $25 in cash, again from Cellular One.

Alaska: Villages protest spray permit;Herbicide opponents deciding whether to take state to court By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK JUNEAU EMPIRE - Hydaburg Mayor Tom Morrison was upset enough about the state's approval of a herbicide spray permit on nearby Long Island that he and the village's tribal president went live on national Native American radio Monday. - Read this Juneau Empire story. www.juneauempire.com    Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

Nearly 100 people participated in the tournament and free play games. Another 200 people from toddlers to grandparents where there to watch and enjoy music by the local band, Parable, and other individual artists, and a delicious fund-raising Barbeque was provided by the high school's Academic Decathlon (ac/dc) team. Free water and Red Bull energy drink rounded it off. - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Alaska: US House Passes ANWR Bill - Today, by a vote of 225 to 201, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 5429, the American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act. Introduced by House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-Calif.), H.R. 5429 allows oil and gas exploration and development on 2,000 acres of the Arctic Coastal Plain.

Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) praised the passage of H.R. 5429. "A majority in both Houses of Congress - and 70% of all Americans - support environmentally-sensitive exploration and development on the Arctic Coastal Plain," he said. "Developing this area's vast resource potential will help stabilize energy prices, spur economic growth, and enhance our national security. I applaud the House of Representatives' passage of this important legislation."

Alaska Congressman Don Young voted to pass The American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act, H.R. 5429 which will allow limited oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

"I am pleased with the results of this vote. Since 2001, the House has passed legislation for oil exploration on ANWR's coastal plain six times," said Congressman Young. "In light of the increase in gas prices at the pumps, this bill makes good sense. I have long said that we should stop sending billions of dollars to OPEC countries who intentionally keep oil prices high and support terrorism with U.S. money. We should spend the money right here at home," he said. - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Alaska: Governor Completes Negotiation on Oil Fiscal Certainty Portion of Gas Pipeline Contract - Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski announced Thursday that state and industry negotiators have reached agreement on the oil fiscal certainty portion of the gas pipeline contract - the final piece.

"This puts into contract form the agreement we reached with the producers' CEOs last February," Murkowski said. "At that time we announced the completion of the gas pipeline portion of the draft contract, as well as their agreement to pay a new net profits severance tax rate of 20 percent to replace the ELF. Completion of the oil fiscal certainty portion of the contract formalizes that agreement."

"I am pleased with the completion of these negotiations, and very optimistic about the gas pipeline contract going forward," Murkowski said. "This gas pipeline does many wonderful things for Alaska ­ it allows us to monetize our tremendous gas resource on the North Slope. It will bring thousands of jobs and economic opportunities to Alaskans. As it delivers gas to the Midwest, it will deliver more than $100 billion to Alaska over its first 35 years. It will add 20 years to the life of the oil pipeline. The gas pipeline truly is our second 'Prudhoe Bay.' - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Alaska: Comments Sought on Steller Sea Lion Plan - NOAA Fisheries Service has announced the release of a draft revised Steller Sea Lion Recovery Plan for public review and comment, according to a notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register.

"A multi-stakeholder recovery team has been working on this Plan for a long time, and we are very pleased with the outcome at this point," said Doug Mecum, NOAA Fisheries Service Alaska Region's Acting Administrator. "We're hoping that individuals with additional information will send us their comments, so we can continue toward the process of finalizing this important Plan."

The Plan highlights three actions that are especially important to the recovery program: (1) maintain current fishery conservation measures (or their equivalent protection); (2) design and implement an adaptive management program to evaluate fishery conservation measures; and (3) continue population monitoring and research on the key threats potentially impeding sea lion recovery. - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Ketchikan: Norquest Seafoods, Inc. Agrees to Pay EPA $77,000 to Settle Federal Water Permit Violations - Norquest Seafoods, an Alaska seafood processor with facilities in Ketchikan, Petersburg and Cordova has agreed to pay a $77,000 penalty to settle water discharge permit violations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at all three facilities.

EPA initiated its enforcement action following the discovery that the company's facilities had violated their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. A settlement for all violations was reached and EPA signed a Consent Agreement and Final Order with Norquest.

According to Kim Ogle, EPA NPDES Compliance Unit Manager, the action was taken following an inspection at each facility, where permit violations were observed and documented.

"Protecting Alaska's pristine waters is a top priority for us," said EPA's Ogle. "Discharge permits help ensure that pollutants in water discharge are minimized. We're pleased that we were able to reach a settlement with these Norquest facilities and expect better permit compliance in the future. Alaska's water quality deserves better compliance." - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Ask Governor to veto appropriation for proposed aquarium By David Hanger - Thursday Tourists By Jerry Cegelske - Thursday Re: Minutemen/Border Patrol By Gerry Nance - Thursday Aerial Genocide on Long Island, Alaska By Robert A. Sanderson Jr. - Wednesday Oppose Head Tax By Anita Hales - Wednesday Minutemen/ Border Patrol By Virginia E. Atkinson - Wednesday New Front Roads By Patti Fay Hickox - Tuesday Vigilantes along the border By Neil Gray - Tuesday Homeland security? By Ken Lewis - Tuesday Don't Spray on Long Island By Frances C. Natkong - Tuesday Good to be home... By Archie Inoncillo - Tuesday Time to return to the gold standard? By Peter Morici - Monday "YES" on the Cruise Ship Ballot Initiative By Carrie L. James - Monday Wrong about the "vigilante" groups By Erni Grace - Saturday RE: New Guest Worker Program No Substitute For Cracking Down By David Levin - Saturday New guest worker program no substitute for cracking down By Mike Harpold - Friday Palin is Party's Brightest Hope By Lysa Maher - Friday Computer Users Over 60 By Lisa Pearson - Friday Guard Won't Solve Illegal Immigration Problem By Neil Gray - Friday Ketchikan By Marvin Seibert - Friday Paintball! Sunday May 21st! By Gregory Vickrey - Friday Revilla High School was there for me. By George Jackson - Friday National Security, Needles, and Haystacks By Alan Lidstone - Friday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan May Calendar Arts This Week Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements May 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S   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

Dale McFeatters: Heeeeere's Osama! - We heard again from Osama bin Laden this week, his third communication this year, and students of his missives are noticing a distinct difference in tone.

There is much less invective and, in this latest, none of the usual threats. Instead, he was commenting on recent events: U.S. defense spending - way too high; President Bush and the Republicans - not treating people fairly; the Palestinian government - restore its funding; Zacarias Moussaoui - he wasn't in on the 9/11 plot, but - and here comes the teaser - "two of the brothers" currently at Guantanamo Bay were. It's an old trick: Always leave your listeners wanting more.

You can see what the crafty terrorist is up to. He wants his own talk show. - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Jason Love: Flying Coaster - Roller coasters have always struck me as a preventable trauma. I mean, if life ain't hard enough. And while in our youth we jump off buildings just to see, we come to feel secure on the ground and view thrill rides as far-off things like outer space or pterodactyls.

I actually blacked out on my last coaster, so who else would be chosen to ride Magic Mountain's newest addition, Tatsu: Flying at the Speed of Fear. I thought Godzilla had killed Tatsu back in the fifties, but here he was -- the tallest, fastest, longest "flying coaster" in history. Take that, Russia.

The others were raring to be first on board, but newness is not something I look for in a ride. I'm more into prestige and track record. What they needed was a big mirror reading, "You must be this crazy to get on Tatsu."

Then I met 10-year-old Josh Malone, who had, in three days, ridden the coaster 165 times! He was a Tatsu Master. - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Michael Reagan: The Divine Right of Congress - For centuries monarchs defended the doctrine of the divine right of kings, a concept that vanished with the development of parliamentary systems limiting royal powers.

That doctrine is now being reasserted; this time by an heir to the parliamentary system - the United States Congress - whose leadership is up in arms over the FBI acting on a search warrant to enter the office of a member of the House caught taking a bribe.

Although evidence exists that Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., was accepting bribes, and had defied a legally issued subpoena - an action that led a federal judge to issue a warrant authorizing the FBI to search his office for the material - the royal members of the Congressional leadership are ranting that the search has violated their alleged constitutional rights. - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006

Will Durst: Mister Majestic - Well, the good news is the president has finally come up with an immigration policy. The bad news is nobody can figure out what it is yet, but hey, give the man his props; he gave it a shot.

Sensing what could be called a somewhat dissatisfied electorate in the same way a 13-acre glacier might be referred to as an ice cube, he delivered his long-awaited speech on immigration and uncharacteristically revealed an actual plan.

A magnanimous five-part plan but not one that included amnesty. This was an amnesty-free plan. A plan that had something to do with increasing border guards and utilizing the National Guard in an unnamed amorphous manner, and there was a provision about going home. Not President Bush, unfortunately, but there was nothing, I repeat, nothing, in there about amnesty, even the thing he called "earned citizenship." A concept that is totally different than amnesty. Somehow. No matter what those confused Republicans are saying. - More...
Thursday - May 25, 2006