Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Alaska, Is It Time For Gaming? by Randy Williams - 07/28/04 More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter July 2004 Click on the date to read the stories & to view photos published on that day... S M T W T F S 27  28 29   30 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  Today's Front Page Front Page Archives

Alaska: Governor Signs Education, Railroad, Other Bills into Law - Governor Frank Murkowski signed 11 bills into law Tuesday, including legislation aimed at improving state-federal cooperation on efforts to improve Alaska's schools and to maintain Alaska Railroad tracks at intersections with state roads.

Senate Bill 358 allows the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to work more freely with the Alaska Railroad Corporation in cases in which railroad construction work must be done at the intersections of railroad tracks and state roads. The bill, sponsored by the Senate Transportation Committee, lets the department and railroad enter into agreements granting the railroad the right to do track work at such locations.

"The Alaska Railroad is an important economic and infrastructure link," the Governor said. "Everyone benefits from the railroad having state assistance in maintaining and repairing its tracks."

House Bill 405, sponsored by Representative Carl Gatto of Palmer, modifies the terminology used in state law to describe how well schools are performing compared to the descriptions used in the federal "No Child Left Behind Act." The bill also requires the state Department of Education and Early Development to provide information, by school district, about how much schools spend and how well they perform. - Read more...
Wednesday - July 28, 2004

Blue Whale... Photograph courtesy NOAA Fisheries

Alaska: NOAA Scientists Sight Blue Whales in Alaska; Critically Endangered Blue Whales Rarely Seen in Alaska Waters - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service announced Tuesday, that NOAA scientists made a rare sighting this month in Alaskan waters. From the deck of the NOAA research vessel McArthur II, they spotted and positively identified rare and endangered blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus, the largest animals known to live on Earth.

"For whale researchers, this is huge," said Dr. Jay Barlow, NOAA's chief scientist on the research cruise. "There have been many marine mammal surveys in Alaska by ship and aircraft, and countless years of small boat research on humpback whales in Alaska, and yet, these are the first fully documented sightings of blue whales here in the past three decades." - Read more...
Wednesday - July 28, 2004

Dick Morris: Masterpiece - The master returned to center stage Monday night as Bill Clinton showed how to address a convention and use issues to win elections.

Facing a national consensus that terror, Iraq and homeland security are the key issues, Bill Clinton dragged America back to the domestic issues on which Democrats retain a strong edge. Long after Clinton's recitation of his own achievements has faded, his effort to reinject health care, Social Security, Medicare, drug prices, education and crime into the national debate may endure. - Read more...
Wednesday - July 28, 2004

Dear Crabby: - BORING GUY - I'm a 36-year-old man, and the problem is that I'm boring. I've never had many friends, and right now I only have two. Both are more or less casual friendships. I'm not good at beginning conversations with strangers, and when someone talks to me, I don't know what to say. My voice is unexpressive, but my therapist said it is because of a sleep disorder. That might be why I'm tired all the time too. I'm not real energetic. - Read more...
Wednesday - July 28, 2004