Ketchikan: Ketchikan Lions To Host Mid-Winter Conference By M.C. KAUFFMAN - It's been a long time since the local Lions Club has hosted the District 49A Mid-Winter Conference in Ketchikan. According to Marvin Hill President of the Ketchikan Lions, they aren't even sure how long it's been - although Hill said they think it was about twenty-two years ago.

Hill said, "A lot has changed since then. Timber and commercial fishing do not dominate the local economy the way they used to, while tourism has expanded to unprecedented proportions. I can tell you what hasn't changed are the indomitable spirit and devotion to community service harbored by the people of Ketchikan including the Lions." - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

Ketchikan: Critics get facts wrong about Alaska bridges By LIZ RUSKIN - To much of America, Alaska's famous "bridges to nowhere" are icons of pork-barrel spending, and misstatements abound as the legend of the $452 million is retold.

ABC, NBC, The Associated Press, The Washington Post and countless columnists have all reported, for example, that one or both bridges would connect a small island "to the mainland."

Not true.

For the record: The Gravina bridge would connect the island of Gravina to the city of Ketchikan, which is on its own island. The Knik bridge, on the other hand, would connect Anchorage to Point MacKenzie, neither of which is on an island. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

Alaska: OPENING ANWR IMPORTANT TO U.S. JOBS AND ECONOMY - Senators Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski on Friday joined with Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, Alaska Natives and representatives of American business and industry to stress that opening ANWR to oil and gas development will mean increased American jobs and boost the economy.

Language that will open a portion of ANWR to oil and gas development is contained in the Senate's budget reconciliation bill that will be taken up in the Senate this week.

"America is paying significantly more for gasoline, heating fuel, and consumer products than just a few short months ago," Sen. Stevens said. "In the past four and a half years, the average price of gasoline has increased by $1.84 a gallon - that's a 75% increase. We now import almost 60% of the oil we consume. For every $1 billion that we spend to develop our domestic resources, we create 12,500 jobs. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

Alaska: Governor, Canadian Premiers Preparing for Gas Pipeline Construction - Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski met with the premiers of three Canadian provinces Monday who all committed to support good faith negotiations between their governments, North Slope oil producers and Canadian pipeline companies to ensure the most expeditious development of the project.

"The best way to avoid delay and litigation in Canada is to resolve regulatory, aboriginal and operational issues with Canadian pipeline operators," Murkowski said. "Today's meeting is part of our effort to ensure that there is a coordinated expeditious process for the project in Canada." - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005  

National: Bush taps conservative judge favored by right for high court By MARY DEIBEL - In picking Judge Samuel Alito Jr. for the Supreme Court, President Bush has joined the confirmation battle by choosing a jurist sufficiently in the mold of conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia that Alito quickly earned the nickname "Scalito."

"Little Scalia," in translation, doesn't follow the firebrand ways of Scalia, known for his tough questions of lawyers at oral arguments and for his sharply worded opinions, especially dissents. Rather, Alito is considered an even-tempered judge whose opinions are scholarly and polite if lacking in passion. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

'Stormy Weather' Front Page Photo by Judy Roush

National: Alito nomination could provoke a 'rumble' By BILL STRAUB - The mountain wouldn't go to President Bush when he nominated Harriet Miers to serve on the Supreme Court, so now he is going to the mountain.

Having taken a beating from usual allies on the right for choosing his White House counsel to serve on the nation's highest court, a choice he subsequently withdrew, Bush tried to get back in the good graces of his base on Monday by offering Judge Samuel Alito in her stead. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

National: Innovative vaccines will be critical in fighting bird flu By SABIN RUSSELL - Of the many worries raised by the H5N1 bird flu, nothing can top modern medicine's reliance on a rickety system that makes influenza vaccine from chicken eggs and has repeatedly failed in the annual bouts against ordinary strains.

Fearing that a pandemic capable of killing millions of people could spring from the avian flu, researchers are studying a range of choices aimed at stretching vaccine supplies, finding new ways to make traditional shots or leaping to new methods of immunization only now being tested in humans. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

International: U.S. Aid Flights to Pakistan Not Dependent on U.N. Donations; Military relief operations have been accelerated, Central Command says - U.S. military humanitarian flights to Pakistan are accelerating and will not be cut back regardless of whether additional donations to the United Nations relief effort are forthcoming.

According to an October 31 press release issued by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the United States has no plans "to diminish its support of its ally, Pakistan, in its hour of need" and hopes the international community will step forward with greatly increased relief effort commitments. Various U.S. government officials have called on international donors to boost current efforts to help Pakistan. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Enough By Valerie Brooks - Tuesday am For Maximum Growth From Evergreens, Don't Poison Alders By D.L. Finney - Tuesday am Needs of Homeless vs Pork Barrel Spending By Stefan Hovik - Tuesday am What about us? By Robert McRoberts - Tuesday am Is fishing industry properly managing catch? By Lisa Fiel - Tuesday am Billions in profits for the world's fat cats By Michael P. Moyer - Monday AM Is the tech industry starting to catch on? By Rick Grams - Monday AM Maybe the best thing for your health is... By Rob Glenn - Monday AM Volcker Report By Shashi Shekhar - Monday AM Opposed to Issuance of Permit to Klukwan By Steve Sumida - Friday PM Aerial application of pesticides By Dianne O'Connell - Friday PM Dock Expansion Vote! By Rick Watson - Friday PM Fix the water problem By Ralph Mirsky - Friday PM Ketchikan HotShots & Enforcement Officer By Sharon Fraley - Friday PM Dock debate By Jay Jones - Friday PM Garbage disposal? By Mike Studley - Friday PM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political cartoons Ketchikan Calendar, Meetings, Events Today's Forecast City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements Oct. - Nov. 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S 25 26 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 01          Front Page Archives

Alaska: Statewide Steller Sea Lion Pup Count Completed - NOAA Fisheries biologists announced Monday they found a small overall increase in Steller sea lion pup numbers in the endangered western population this year. However, they also found significant regional differences across the western stock's range from Prince William Sound to Attu Island, with some areas showing an increase while others decreased.

Scientists separate Steller sea lions into two populations at Longitude 144° west, the western and eastern populations. The eastern population, which stretches from Southeast Alaska through California, has increased by 2 percent per year over the last decade for adults and juveniles and 3 percent per year for pups. The western population inhabits the Gulf of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and westward, and declined over 80% between the 1970s and 2000. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

Alaska: Alaska Marketplace Unveiled at AFN Convention; First Statewide Initiative in U.S. Launched to Combat Rural Poverty - Modeled after brilliantly successful rural development projects for developing countries, the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Denali Commission have launched Alaska Marketplace, which is described as an exciting new initiative aimed at spurring economic development in rural Alaska by soliciting creative ideas from entrepreneurs across the state in an 'innovation competition.'

The program was inspired by one of the most successful development programs ever created - the Development Marketplace. Founded in 1998 by the World Bank, the Development Marketplace program has invested more than $34M in more than 800 projects around the globe in the last seven years. The Alaska model is the first statewide marketplace project of its kind in the country. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005  

Alaska: NOAA Fisheries proposes critical habitat in Alaska waters for right whales - NOAA Fisheries Service has proposed critical habitat areas for endangered northern right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. The two areas cover about 36,750 square miles of marine habitat.

NOAA Fisheries Service scientists believe these areas contain elements that are essential to northern right whale conservation in the Pacific Ocean. The areas contain certain types of zooplankton, which right whales eat. Recent sightings of right whales in the southeastern Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska and locations of right whale calls were instrumental in identifying these important feeding areas. The right whale calls were captured on acoustic recorders placed on the sea floor. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

National: Why some Americans remain optimistic By THOMAS HARGROVE - Despite war, federal incompetence, charges of White House misconduct, the deadliest natural disasters in modern times, threat of a bird flu pandemic and unprecedented energy costs, at least some Americans remain resolute in their optimism.

Thirty-six percent believe that America "basically is headed in the right direction," according to the latest poll conducted by the Scripps Survey Research Center. It's the lowest, most pessimistic result in the 12 years the question has been asked. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

National: The latest buzzzzzz on adolescent sleep By LEE BOWMAN - It's a math problem that many adolescents and their parents can't seem to solve: most teens don't seem able to go to sleep before 11 p.m., yet need to up by 6 or even earlier the next morning, equaling a daily sleep deficit of two hours or more.

While much of the blame for the cycle has been put on teens having too much to do at night and school start times being too early, researchers have found a physical reason for the delay in bedtimes. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005

Science - Technology: Changing clocks may save hour, but not energy By EDIE LAU - We've gone through that autumn ritual again - no, not raking leaves, setting the clocks back and leaving daylight-saving time for a return to standard time. The mornings are lighter, the evenings darker and, if conventional wisdom is correct, we'll burn more electricity than before.

After all, we'll switch on the lights at an earlier hour. When it's cold, we'll turn on the heat earlier, too. - More...
Tuesday - November 01, 2005