Columns Dave Kiffer: Vox Populi #2 - A lot of you were pretty amused when I misspelled the word satellite a while back in a column about spelling. I suppose I should it say it was an intentional mistake that was placed there to make a point. But no, it was an unintentional one. That definitely makes my point about the spelling bone suffering from osteoporosis as one ages. - More... Saturday - January 08, 2005 Bob Ciminel: Another Hostage Situation - California utility, Pacific Electric and Gas Company (PG&E), owns and operates the 2,100-megawatt Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant located on the coast near San Luis Obispo, an area often referred to as the "Middle Kingdom," with apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien.... More... Saturday - January 08, 2005 Preston MacDougall: Chemical Eye Up in the Sky - In a galaxy far, far away, one of the building blocks of proteins, an amino acid, was synthesized in a chemical reaction that occurred a long, long time ago. - More... Saturday - January 08, 2005 Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Note: Due to some unknown glitch, SitNews' e-mail messages were not delivered Friday morning - Saturday afternoon. SitNews e-mail was re-routed Saturday afternoon through another provider and again we are receiving e-mails. If you do not see your letter publish, we apologize - it is likely one of the letters lost during delivery. Social Security Debate Off to a Misleading Start by Michelle Bazie - Sunday Rape camps: Yes - Do some research by Rick Grams - Sunday Exploiting Alaska by Don Hoff Jr. - Sunday Palestinian question by Charles Collins - Sunday Affordable Recreation by Brandi Conway - Sunday Real Life by Kara Steele - Sunday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter January 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S 26 27 28 29 30 31 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

Ketchikan: Boat Builder Preserves History in 3-D by Louise Brinck Harrington - Take a good close look at these boats. Start with the Evening Star and observe her smooth lines, high white mast and forward-style house. On her stern sits a dory full of bright orange buoys, coils of ground line, a set of oars. And don't miss her green canvas staysail, covered baiting table and deck loaded with ground line anchors, flagpole markers and other fishing gear.

Now check out the Seymour. She's older than the Evening Star and built in the old-fashioned schooner style, with the house aft and the hold and hatch forward. Look closely at the hatch cover where a fisherman's been working and temporarily left his gear-a box of hooks, a coil of line, a knife, an empty coffee cup. If you could peek into the pilothouse, you'd make out charts and computers, a depth finder and electronic gear. You might even make out a calendar, complete with a picture of a beautiful woman, pinned to the wheelhouse wall.

The Evening Star and the Seymour are both halibut boats equipped with a chute on the stern for letting out the line and a gear puller and rollers for hauling in the fish. Both boats look shipshape as if they're ready to steam to the westward in search of the fishing grounds. You can almost hear the thump of the engines and smell the exhaust.

But, wait, don't be so sure!

It may be hard to believe, but these boats are models. - More...
Saturday - January 08, 2005

National: Bush moves to reform tax code - With Social Security reform already on his second-term agenda, President Bush on Friday assumed the equally thorny task of transforming the notoriously complicated tax code.

Two former U.S. senators, Republican Connie Mack of Florida and Democrat John Breaux of Louisiana, have agreed to serve as chairmen of a Bush-appointed nine-member panel responsible for exploring ways to simplify a tax system whose most recent overhaul came in 1986.

The announcement, issued from the Oval Office, sets into motion an effort to follow through on a pledge the president offered during his re-election campaign. The present system, Bush asserted throughout the contest with Democratic rival John Kerry, is a hindrance to America's economic aspirations.- More...
Saturday - January 08, 2005

National: Q-and-A on potential Social Security changes - Private Social Security accounts are a top priority for President Bush, who warns that "crisis is here" unless Congress fundamentally recasts the nation's 70-year-old retirement safety net. - More...
Saturday - January 08, 2005

National: TSA: Arsonists OK as hazmat haulers - The federal government wants to change its current rules to permit convicted arsonists to get special licenses so they can drive gasoline tankers and trucks loaded with explosives and hazardous materials. - More...
Saturday - January 08, 2005

Alaska: Cruise ship association questions signatures on Alaska initiative - The NorthWest Cruise Ship Association has hired a former Secret Service agent to search for forgery among more than 23,000 signatures submitted in support of a cruise-ship ballot initiative.

It's the first time in Alaska history that a forensic document examiner will independently verify signatures that the Division of Elections has already deemed valid, state officials said Thursday. - More...
Saturday - January 08, 2005