Week In Review: Soldiers killed ... Justice O'Connor resigns ... More By BILL STRAUB - The number of military dead as a result of the Iraq war reached 1,745 this week, an average of 2.32 deaths per day during the first 835 days of hostilities. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

National: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement By MARY DEIBEL - Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and the swing vote on such hot-button issues as abortion, affirmative action, religion and capital punishment, announced Friday that she will retire.

O'Connor, 75, said in a letter notifying President Bush that she will step down "effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor." - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

National: Potential Supreme Court nominees By MARY DEIBEL - Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement will affect White House political calculations on a Supreme Court replacement when ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist had been expected to step down first:

As with President Ronald Reagan's 1981 choice of O'Connor as the first woman named to the high court, President Bush may opt for another "first." But diversity may not get top priority when choosing among these people said to be on the short list. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

National: Fresh questions about where high court goes from here By BILL STRAUB - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement deprives the Supreme Court of an influential voice and raises fresh questions about the direction the next court might take.

O'Connor is widely perceived as a swing vote on the nation's highest court - a description she consistently sought to downplay - proving to be the fulcrum in a series of controversial 5-4 rulings. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

National: Is Bush consistent or doing an about-face on war? By MARC SANDALOW - Two weeks before the United States attacked Iraq, President Bush told the American people: "Should we have to go in, our mission is very clear: disarmament. And in order to disarm, it would mean regime change."

This week on prime-time television, 28 months later, Bush said: "Our mission in Iraq is clear. We are hunting down the terrorists. We are helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We are advancing freedom in the broader Middle East." - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

National: U.S. military seen as unlikely to create a lasting solution By ANNA BADKHEN - It's called "cordon and talk," and it epitomizes everything that works and does not work about the American military presence in Iraq. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

DAVE-AID FUNDRAISER CONCERT July 2, 2005 Pictured: Dave Rubin Proceeds go towards Dave Rubin's medical costs. - More information

National: Shuttered bases may not save billions after all By TARA COPP - Carrying out the Pentagon's recommended base closures will cost $24 billion up front and may not lead to the substantial savings the Defense Department is projecting, according to a new government report released Friday. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Washington Calling: Chinese fireworks ... Fight over baseball ... More By LANCE GAY - Odds are the rockets' red flare and bombs bursting in air this July Fourth are going to be made in China.

U.S. fireworks manufacturers today make only about $17 million worth of fireworks annually, compared to some $172 million that are imported - almost all from China. China is also the prime source for the $5.2 million worth of U.S. flags imported into the country that are used in Independence Day yard displays. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Medical: Truck air filters may be medical breakthrough By DEE DEPASS - The rat in Sally Meiners' New Jersey lab stood on its hind legs, spied food and darted to the other end of the cage to grab the morsel. Just four days earlier, the rat had sat motionless, its spine severed and hind legs paralyzed.

The latest medical miracle? Perhaps. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Yellow Cedar Decline - Damage in Southeast Alaska Photo by Paul E. Hennon, USDA Forest Service

Alaska: Alaska Yellow Cedar as Mosquito Repellant? By NED ROZELL - Massive Alaska yellow-cedar trees contain natural preservatives that repel mosquitoes, kill ticks, and prevent diseases from attacking other trees.

Alaska yellow-cedar has the strongest wood of any in the state, and grows on coastlines from Prince William Sound to northern California. In recent years, yellow-cedar have been dying of causes other than old age on more than 500,000 acres of Southeast Alaska, and scientists aren't yet sure why. Some think it may be warm winters and springs that are limiting snowfall accumulation, exposing shallow root systems to blasts of lethal cold air. As the trees' cause of death is investigated, scientists have come up with an innovative way to utilize the dead trees. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005 

Ketchikan: Borough & Fire Officials Lift Open Burning Ban - With the recent rainy weather dampening the area enough to lower the fire danger in all regions, the request for a curtailment of open burning has been lifted. North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dave Hull said, "The National Weather Service is calling for a chance of showers through the Fourth of July weekend, but we all know it won't rain on the parade." In spite of the weather prediction, the danger is not completely past, said Fire Chief Hull. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005 

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Afraid of strong women? By John Stewart - Saturday Anti-Tongass Amendment Defeated By Andy Rauwolf - Saturday Points By Linda Burger - Saturday Fact or Fiction? By Randy Cech - Saturday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Heartland Soldier Sandy Huffaker, Cagle Cartoons Distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons, Inc. Political Cartoonists Ketchikan Calendar, Meetings, Events Today's Forecast City Police Report 06/30/05 AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements June - July 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos 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 01   Front Page Archives

Alaska: Environmental groups plan events to protest ANWR drilling By LIZ RUSKIN - A coalition of environmental groups on Wednesday announced a summer of rallies, media ads and a "Don't Drill on Me" tour to block oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Americans are outraged that Congress is considering opening the refuge to drilling rigs, said Bill Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Alaska: Anti-Tongass Amendment Defeated - Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that the Senate "did the right thing" in defeating an "unfair attack" on Alaska's Tongass National Forest. By a vote of 39 to 59, the Senate defeated an amendment sponsored by Senators John Sununu (R-NH) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) to the FY06 Interior Appropriations Act that would have prohibited the use of federal funds to build new logging roads in the Tongass National Forest. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Alaska: Governor signs Family Rights Act - Governor Frank H. Murkowski on Thursday signed into law HB 53, legislation that strengthens the rights of family members for placement or adoption of children, opens court proceedings and allows the Department of Health and Social Services Office of Children's Services to disclose information to the public about department actions surrounding certain child abuse and neglect cases. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Alaska: Governor Announces Boards and Commissions Appointments - Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski has announced the appointment to several boards and commissions. They are: the Alaska Public Offices Commission, the Mental Health Board, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault board, the Alaska Historical Commission, the Board of Midwives, the Board of Directors of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, the Board of Trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, the State Medical Board, the Board of Nursing, the Seafood Marketing Institute, and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Science: Alaskan graduate preparing for "Deep Impact" - A comet's make-up is still a mystery. Scientists believe they're filled with ice, dust, and perhaps the building blocks for life, but they've never been able to get an up close and personal look. On Independence Day all of this will change with a mission dubbed "Deep Impact." - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Science: Comet clash will be visible from Earth By LEE BOWMAN - The NASA probe set to crash into Comet Tempel 1 at 23,000 mph late Sunday is expected to cause considerable brightening of the icy rock, but most experts say backyard astronomers will still need a telescope or good binoculars to see the debris cloud.

The Deep Impact mission involves a probe that's been closing with the comet for months, releasing an 816-pound projectile into the comet's path, then moving away to a safe distance to record the result with cameras and other instruments 24 hours later. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005

Sharon Allen: New Tour "Art and Artists on the Water" Features Local Artists By Sharon Allen - The artists in Ketchikan are as passionate about their art as GOLDBELT Alaska Cruises is about the new, unique and groundbreaking twist they gave to one of their Historical Waterfront Cruises aboard The Arctic Fjord yesterday.

On Thursday at 12:00 noon, David Allen, General Manager of Alaska Cruises, launched "Art and Artists on the Water," a program intending to mix a bit of today's artistic Ketchikan with the usual historical tales of the city. 
 
A local artist, MJ Turek, was invited to be the first to participate in the innovative project.  Turek brought examples of her art and spoke to the passengers for a brief time during the cruise; explaining a bit about what inspires her creativity here in Ketchikan. - More...
Friday - July 01, 2005