Columns Dave Kiffer: AKA Clueless - Last week, I was reading one of those "stupid criminal" stories (man tries to rob donut shop in Cleveland and doesn't notice three uniformed police officers sitting at one of the tables!) and it got me thinking about the stories I've heard of local criminals who were a "few credits short of a law degree." - More... Saturday - January 29, 2005 Preston MacDougall: Chemical Eye on a New Moon - For their classic 1973 album, the psychedelic rock band, Pink Floyd, got the optics right, but the astronomy wrong. White light is dispersed into a rainbow of colors by a glass prism, but there is no "Dark Side of the Moon." - More... Saturday - January 29, 2005 Commentary Ann McFeatters: The new America - Life in America under George W. Bush has changed. And the changes will keep on coming, as Vice President Cheney says, "big time." - More... Saturday - January 29, 2005 Linda Seebach: Adopting CSR uncritically can be damaging - The movement for "corporate social responsibility" would seem to have everything going for it. No one's in favor of corporate irresponsibility, after all. - More... Saturday - January 29, 2005 Viewpoints Opinions/Letters No place like Nome by Nils Evald Biti - Sunday The things we talk about by Robert McRoberts- Sunday KCS Issues by Jackie Williams - Saturday The governor did the right thing. by Steve Porter - Saturday Justice, Freedom and Liberty for Undocumented People by Ranjit Shaji - Saturday It's All Dark by Myke Carter - Saturday 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

National: Bush faces GOP dissent on immigration proposal - President Bush intends to push for major changes in the nation's immigration policy despite misgivings voiced by congressional Republicans that in some instances approach hostility.

The president this week announced plans to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to reform immigration laws even though Senate Republicans pointedly refused to place the issue among the top concerns on this year's agenda.

And shortly after Bush made his feelings known, an influential Republican, Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation that appears to run counter to the president's moderate approach.

While Bush is promoting a guest worker program that will provide visas to some of the nation's estimated 10 million undocumented workers, Sensenbrenner wants to require all those who apply for a driver's license or identification card to prove they are legally in the country.

The debate over immigration policy presents one of the few instances where Bush and congressional Republicans, who control both the House and Senate, appear destined for a showdown. In the past, the GOP leadership has been able to round up the necessary votes for controversial White House initiatives, including Bush's Medicare drug plan and intelligence reform. - More...
Saturday - January 29, 2005

National: Major base-closing plans ... Poky scientists - The Pentagon is piecing together its most radical base-realignment plans ever, impacting life on a quarter of all of its military bases and depots around the United States.

Expect closings that will be far more sweeping than previous rounds. Auditors claim the Pentagon would save $7 billion a year from those closings, and the Pentagon this year is under orders from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to reconfigure its forces to better fight the war on terrorism.

Translation: Expensive bases built to fight the Cold War are no longer needed.

Topping the hit list: Military depots, and small National Guard and Reserve bases. The generals and admirals estimate that at least $20 billion could be saved privatizing the routine repair work depots do overhauling ships, planes and tanks. States already have hired teams of $400-an-hour Washington lobbyists to defend the jobs of thousands of civilian mechanics and other employees.- More...
Saturday - January 29, 2005

Alaska: Arctic Cooling - While most scientists agree that human activities are causing the world's climate to heat up, two Alaska scientists say that nature still has a big say in how much the Arctic heats up.

Over the past three decades, the Arctic has become steadily warmer. By some accounts, the Arctic has warmed an average of three degrees. That doesn't seem like much, but it's been enough heat to melt an area of Arctic sea ice larger than the state of Texas.

Some scientists say it's the strongest evidence yet that humans are heating up the climate. But others say the warming is part of a natural cycle that has played out across the Arctic for thousands of years. - More...
Saturday - January 29, 2005

UAF's Dan White, left, and a Wales resident at Gilbert Creek Dam in Wales. Wales residents pump water from this reservoir once annually to fill the 500,000-gallon storage tank. The reservoir freezes during the winter. Photo by Erin Strang.

Alaska: Village water supplies in a warmer world by Ned Rozell - A recent "water bottle airlift" from Bethel to the western Alaska village of Nunam Iqua showed how precious clean water can be in the Alaska Bush. A team of scientists is now studying how changes in climate might impact the water supplies of some Alaska villages.

Nunam Iqua is like many Alaska villages that use a variety of fresh water sources. The 35 families who live in Nunam Iqua rely on a nearby river for water that they store during the winter in a 200,000-gallon tank. When a December 2004 storm fouled the river with salt water and a tank fitting failed, draining their stored water, residents asked for help. The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services began flying 500 gallons of water each day to Nunam Iqua. When the river cleared later in the month, residents were able to begin storing water again and officials called off the water airlift. - More...
Saturday - January 29, 2005