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Monday
November 24, 2003
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Front page photo by Carl Thompson
National: Senate
advances major Medicare bill; Budget point of order defeated
- Two last-minute efforts by Democratic senators to block
passage of a contentious $400 billion plan overhauling Medicare
failed Monday, and the historic bill was expected to win passage
in the Senate by the end of the day. - Read
more... Alaska: Alaska's Unemployment Rate Unchanged In October; Ketchikan's Unemployment Rate Rises to 7.9 percent - Alaska's unemployment rate remained at 6.8 percent in October as both employment and unemployment numbers fell slightly. The comparable national rate (not seasonally adjusted) fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 5.6 eprcent. Dan Robinson, a labor economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Develpment, reported the numbers. According to Robinson, as expected in October, Alaska's employment continued its seasonal contraction. Approximately 2,500 fewer Alaskans were employed in October than in September. Generally the decline in employment produces a corresponding, though smaller, increase unemployment. This month's numbers show a slight decrease in unemployment, however. Ketchikan's unemployment rate
rose from 5.7 percent in September to 7.9 percent in October.
In September 2003 the number reported employed was 7,245 and
in October 2003 the number reported employed was 6,755. However,
October 2003 had a larger number employed than in October 2002
when the number employed was reported at 6,390. - Read
more... Alaska: Murkowski
backs off $250 million budget cut target - Gov. Frank
Murkowski is backing off talk of cutting $250 million from next
year's budget. - Read
more... |
Alaska: State
vulnerable to big drop in federal funds - The amount
of federal money pouring into Alaska's economy has soared over
the past 20 years, reaching $7.6 billion in 2002, ranking the
state first in the nation for per-capita federal spending. -
Read
more... National: Medicare
Bill Would Enrich Companies; $125 Billion More for Employers,
Health Firms - The Medicare legislation that passed the House
near dawn on Saturday and is moving toward a final vote in the
Senate would steer at least $125 billion over the next decade
in extra assistance to the health care industry and U.S. businesses,
in addition to its widely heralded goal of helping older Americans
pay for prescription drugs. - Read
more... National: Senators
wrangle over Medicare - Frist calls rare Sunday session,
promises Monday vote - Senators spent a rare Sunday session debating
a sweeping Medicare bill that for the first time would offer
retirees prescription drug coverage. -
Read more... |
National: Senate
Showdown on Medicare Bill Looms - The Republican-controlled
Senate pointed toward a showdown Sunday on a sweeping Medicare
prescription drug bill that sparked a last stand by outnumbered
critics and beckoned Democratic presidential hopefuls to the
Capitol to join the fight. - Read
more...
POW: IFA Boards 100,000th Passenger - A small group of dignitaries gathered at the Hollis ferry terminal on Prince of Wales Island Saturday counting passengers as they boarded the M/V Prince of Wales for its daily 8:00 am departure for Ketchikan. They were in attendance to identify the 100,000th person to travel on the Hollis-Ketchikan route since the Inter-Island Ferry Authority inaugurated service on January 15, 2002. Eighty five passengers and 24 vehicles boarded at Hollis, including Vicki Hamilton of Craig, who was honored as passenger number 100,000. IFA chair and Craig mayor Dennis
Watson presented Vicki Hamilton with a complimentary round-trip
ticket, and gift certificates for a two night stay at the Best
Western Landing Hotel, two days of car rental from Alaska Car
Rental, and dinner for two at Annabelles. The prizes were donated
by Ketchikan merchants. Hamilton is Craig city clerk. Her father
in law, Fred Hamilton, Sr. was the first passenger on the M/V
Prince of Wales, when he rode the vessel from the shipyard in
Anacortes to Ketchikan on its delivery voyage in December, 2001.
- Read
more... |
by Dr. Fran Good Toxoplasma - Last year, Ketchikan had several otter deaths that were attributed to the parasite Toxoplasma. Toxoplasma uses cats as an intermediate host, meaning that cats carry it without any signs Several people asked me whether runoff contaminated with cat feces posed a threat to people using area beaches. It's a smart question, because
Toxo is excreted in the feces, but the short answer to the smart
question is that human infections by Toxo are usually asymptomatic.
The only people who need to watch out for Toxo are pregnant women,
because Toxo can be transmitted transplacentally to the embryo.
If the infection occurs in the first trimester, fetal death and/or
abortion occurs. If the transmission occurs in the last trimester,
then neurological and visual abnormalities are the most common
result. - Read
more...
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