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National: Bush details Iraq troop reductions By JAMES ROSEN - President Bush provided his first specific figures Wednesday for a U.S. troop drawdown in Iraq and outlined a changing military mission there over the next year.

In a separate address, Vice President Dick Cheney defended Bush's controversial domestic eavesdropping initiative, saying it might have helped prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had it been in place before then.

After meeting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and conferring via teleconference with his top military commanders in Iraq, Bush said the Pentagon is removing 20,000 soldiers dispatched in late fall to beef up security for the Dec. 15 elections.

Those reductions will put the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at the pre-election level of 138,000, Bush said, and two more brigades - equaling several thousand - will be pulled out in the coming months. The remaining 135,000 troops in Iraq would be the lowest level since the summer of 2004. - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

National: Spotlight turns to those who accepted money, favors By ZACHARY COILE - The plea deal by lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his agreement to cooperate with prosecutors has top lawmakers fearing they could face charges in an expanding Justice Department investigation into bribery and influence-peddling in Congress.

Legal experts predict that Rep. Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio, could soon be indicted. Lawyers have identified him as "Representative No. 1," who, according to the complaint filed against Abramoff, accepted a golfing trip to Scotland, lavish meals and free tickets to sporting events and concerts in return for pushing legislation and carrying out other official acts that helped Abramoff's clients.

Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, also faces possible legal jeopardy because of his close ties to Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, a former DeLay aide and Abramoff's admitted partner in crime who also has agreed to help prosecutors. The new plea deal also appears to identify DeLay's former deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, as an unindicted co-conspirator in one allegedly fraudulent scheme. - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

National: Stamp-price hike is pure politics, critics charge By LANCE GAY - The U.S. Postal Service reported just last week that it had a bumper year in 2005 and rolled up a $1.6 billion profit.

So why are taxpayers getting out their sheets of 2-cent stamps in preparation for Sunday, when the cost of first-class mail increases from 37 cents to 39 cents? - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

National: Veterans battle to save Purple Heart stamp By MARGARET TALEV - With stamp prices set to rise on Jan. 8, from 37 cents to 39 cents, the U.S. Postal Service is getting 2-cents' worth from a wounded-veterans group and a senator eyeing a presidential run.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., are in the throes of a petition and letter-writing campaign to extend the life of the Purple Heart stamp. With a growing constituency behind them as the Iraq war wears on, they might yet succeed.

"We're taking into consideration people's desire to have this, and we're working on it," USPS spokesman Jim Quirk said. "We're just trying to decide how best to go about it." - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Lines on roads needed By Amber Williams - Thursday Harriet Hunt Trash Indicates White Trash Mentality By Doug Barry - Thursday Great Earthquake By Craig Alleman - Thursday Southeast Alaska - The Ultimate Travel Destination By Susan Walsh - Wednesday PM What's in a name? By Chris Elliott - Wednesday PM Would You Like A Tour of Schoenbar? By Jackie Williams - Wednesday PM Fireworks By Cecelia Johnson - Wednesday PM World Government By Bob and Miriam Harmon - Wednesday PM An open letter to Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens By John Sodrel - Wednesday PM A New Year's letter to my sisters By Angela Salazar - Tuesday PM Lake Harriet Hunt Trash By Jerry Cegelske - Tuesday PM Trash By Steve Smeltzer - Tuesday PM A Newspaper's responsibility to Protect Its Readers By Mark Neckameyer - Tuesday PM PBS' biased, inaccurate portrayal of people and events By Iliya Pavlovich - Tuesday PM Guard rails and trees falling from the hills By Rhiann Golder - Tuesday PM A Ketchikan 'Auld Lange Syne' By Tori Jackson - Tuesday PM Would enjoy better maintained roads By Caroline Luckey - Monday Faculty vs. Staff in Education By Robert D. Warner - Monday Stimulating the economy By Jay Jones - Monday Dangerfield Earned Respect By Al Johnson - Monday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan Thursday, January 05, 2006, 7:00 pm - The Ketchikan City Council will hold a regular meeting in the City Council Chambers. Agenda & Information Packets Monday, January 09, 2006, 5:50 pm - The Ketchikan Borough Assembly will hold a special meeting in the City Council Chambers. Agenda & Information Packets Saturday, January 21, 2006, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. - Public Hearing - Petition by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough for Legislative Review - annexation of approximately 4,701 square miles to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. City Council Chambers, 334 Front Street, Ketchikan, AK Summary & Annexation Petition & Exhibits Today's Forecast Current AK Weather Map City Police Report 01/04/06 AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements Dec. - Jan. 2006 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S   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 02 03 04 05 06  07 Front Page Archives

Ketchikan: Airport disaster exercise planned - An airport disaster exercise is planned for this Saturday (January 7th) from 9am until noon. Participating in the diaster exercise are Ketchikan International Airport, Alaska Airlines, Ketchikan General Hospital, North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department, South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department, The City of Ketchikan, The Coast Guard Station Ketchikan, and The Ketchikan Fire Department.

The airport and ferry will continue normal operations during this time but emergency vehicles and personnel will be involved in simulated operations in the Tongass Narrows, at the airport, and in the vacinity of the airport parking lot (land side). - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

Ketchikan: The Arts This Week - This week in Ketchikan: Opening Reception for How the Ink Feels: at the Main Stay Gallery on Friday, January 6th from 5PM - 7 PM. Reception is free and open to the public. Exhibit features a collection of letterpress broadsides illuminating poetry and prose by distinguished American writers.

Collograph Workshop with Evon Zerbetz. Saturday, January 7th 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. There is no cost; however reservations are required for limited spaces available. Phone 225-5900 to register or for more info.

Friday Night Insight Programs at the SE Alaska Discovery Center: Every Friday night, 7 - 8pm. January 6: "The Walrus of Round Island" presented by Karen Brand from the US Forest Service will present pictures and facts about her trip to the Walrus Island Game Sanctuary.

Call for Artists for the 2005 Wearable Art Show! Amazingly enough it is time to start thinking about your wearable pieces and get ready to fill out that paper work. The next deadline is January 20th for registrations of pieces by artists under 18. Call 225-2211 for more information or stop by 716 Totem Way for a grant application and/or registration form. - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

Alaska: Alaska Board of Game Extends Statewide Meeting Dates - The Alaska Board of Game today announced that it is extending its upcoming winter meeting by one day.  The board is now scheduled to meet January 27-30 in Anchorage at the 4th Avenue Theatre to consider over 50 proposals pertaining to statewide hunting and the use of game.
 
Proposals have been submitted by the Department of Fish and Game, state advisory committees, and the general public seeking adjustments to statewide hunting and trapping regulations applying to all Game Management Units.  - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

International: Sharon felled by medicine side effect By SABIN RUSSELL - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive brain hemorrhage appears to be a rare but well-known side effect of blood-thinning medication taken to avert a recurrence of the minor stroke he suffered two weeks ago.

Most strokes - about 85 percent of them - are caused by a clot that blocks the flow of blood to part of the brain, starving vulnerable nerve tissue of oxygen.

Sharon was hospitalized for two days after such a stroke on Dec. 18. That blood clot in his brain, known as an ischemic stroke, made him feel poorly but appeared to cause no lasting damage. - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

Analysis: Ailing Sharon leaves political void By LISA HOFFMAN - The devastating stroke that has felled Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came at a precarious moment in the roiling Mideast region, a time of extraordinary political turmoil but also one in which the momentum for peace was stronger than it had been in a decade.

One of the last of Israel's founding lions who fought for the nation's birth 58 years ago, Sharon battled for his life Thursday in a Jerusalem hospital after seven hours of surgery to stanch bleeding in his brain following a cerebral hemorrhage Wednesday. - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006

National: Jazzing up MREs the Paul Prudhomme way By LISA HOFFMAN - The day may soon come when a tired and dirty soldier in some godforsaken place will rip open his Meals-Ready-to-Eat bag and find what in New Orleans is called a "lagniappe," or little bonus gift.

In this case, if a government contract goes the way of Paul Prudhomme, the surprise will be a packet or two of the star chef's world-famous spice concoctions. - More...
Thursday - January 05, 2006