Commentary - Columns Dale McFeatters: Saints, Romans and Valentines - English author R. Chambers, writing in the 1883 edition of his "The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities," observed of Feb. 14: "Valentine's Day is now almost everywhere a much degenerated festival, the only observance of any note consisting merely of the sending of jocular anonymous letters ... and this confined very much to the humbler classes." - More... Monday - February 14, 2005 Preston MacDougall: Chemical Eye on Love - The digital side of John Mayer's CD "Room for squares" has one of my favorite ultra-romantic songs - "Your body's a wonderland" - but the best part of the CD is the periodic table gracing the other side. (If you didn't know that, but you enjoy the song on your i-Pod, then Napster ripped you off too!) On behalf of chemists everywhere, especially those that are romantics: "Thank you John Mayer". - More... Monday - February 14, 2005 Bob Ciminel: Canadian Geese - I got a laugh when I saw Carl Thompson's photo of the Canadian Geese in Ketchikan. Oh, don't get me wrong; it was a great photograph, as Carl's photos always are. But, gee whiz, seven geese? That hardly qualifies as a gaggle in my book. Let me explain. - More... Monday - February 14, 2005 Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Cold Storage, Just Do It by Bill Ayers - Monday Cold Storage; the big Con by Don Hoff Jr. - Monday Coaches deserve respect by Eric Bezenek - Monday Promises Promise More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter February 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S     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           Today's Front Page Front Page Archives

National: Bush threatens to veto limits on Medicare drug plan - President Bush issued a rare veto threat Friday as he vowed to any block legislative attempt to shrink the prescription-drug benefit in Medicare changes set to take effect next year.

At the swearing-in ceremony for Michael Leavitt, health and human services secretary, Bush responded to congressional critics upset by increased cost projections for the new drug benefit.

"I signed Medicare reform proudly, and any attempt to limit the choice of our seniors and to take away their prescription-drug coverage under Medicare will meet my veto," Bush said.

After Bush sent Congress his budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year Monday, aides acknowledged that the estimated cost of providing prescription medicine to Medicare recipients had risen to $724 billion over the first decade the plan is in operation.

The cost projection is almost twice as high as the $400 billion figure Bush cited two years ago when he unveiled his prescription-drug proposal in his 2003 State of the Union address. Shortly after Congress narrowly passed the Medicare-reform bill in November 2003, the administration increased the prescription-drug cost to $534 billion. - More...
Monday - February 14, 2005

National: Survey: Only 4 in 10 know how many troops killed in Iraq - Most Americans guess wrong when asked to estimate how many troops have died in the U.S. occupation of Iraq, a sign that many are giving scant attention to the nation's most dangerous military operation since the Vietnam War.

A new survey of 1,001 adults conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University found that fewer than half said they "very closely" follow news coverage of the military occupation. Less than a third named "the war on terror" or "peace in the Mideast" as the most important issue facing America. Most others preferred domestic concerns like the economy, Social Security, education or health care.

So far this year, soldiers and Marines have died at a rate of about three per day in the conflict. More than 1,450 military personnel and several dozen civilian employees of the Defense Department have died since Operation Iraqi Freedom began nearly two years ago.

Forty percent of people in the poll gave the correct answer when asked, to the nearest 500, how many have died in the six-week war and the bloody military occupation that followed. Thirty-two percent guessed that 1,000 or fewer have died, 21 percent said 2,000 or more have died and 7 percent could not make a guess.

People who oppose the war tend to overestimate the number of fatalities in Iraq while those who support it are more likely to underestimate the death toll. - More...
Monday - February 14, 2005

Keith Smith and Sarah Briggs-Cornelius begin telling the story of Ferdinand Photo by Sharon Lint

Ketchikan: The Story of a Sitting Bull: Ferdinand and Friends Becomes Another StoryTime Success at the Ketchikan Library By Sharon Lint - On February 10th and 11th, StoryTime at the Ketchikan Public Library played host to local violinist Sarah Briggs-Cornelius and reader Keith Smith. Their musical performance of Ferdinand and Friends delighted all who attended. Enthralled children sat on laps or lay on cushions in front of the makeshift stage as Keith recited the story and Sarah emphasized the words with her exquisite talent on the violin.

For those unfamiliar with the tale, the original book, The Story of Fredinand, was written by Munro Leaf over sixty years ago and was first published by Viking Press in 1936. Rumor has it that Leaf wrote it to promote the drawing talents of his good friend Robert Lawson, a then-unknown illustrator. It is said that it took Leaf less than one hour to write the 800-word children's book. Lawson then took up the challenge and created the distinctive pen-and-ink drawings. Especially skillful in his use of contour lines, the intricate illustrations seem to come alive upon the page and serve as a perfect compliment to the simplistic story. - More...
Monday - February 14, 2005

People's Choice and Best of Show 708 - Baltimore Album (hand quilted) Quilt Owner: Lynn Wadley Quilt Maker: Carol Ann Wadley Photograph by Carl Thompson

Ketchikan: THE SUN COMES OUT FOR THE RAINY DAY QUILTER'S
14TH ANNUAL QUILT SHOW AND AUCTION - Two hundred and two beautiful entries representing thousands of stitches drew crowds to the Plaza Mall for the 14th Annual Quilting in the Rain quilt show in Ketchikan. The Rainy Day Quilter's Guild sponsors the show, which exhibits handcrafted quilts and quilted art forms in contemporary and traditional styles. From bed quilts to baby blankets, antiques from the Civil War era to innovative wall hangings with metallic and hand woven fabrics, vests to table toppers, there is something for everyone at the quilt show this year.

"The Annual Quilt Show is the culmination of a year's worth of planning and hard work by an energetic committee of members," said Dena Conley, this year's quilt show chairperson. Quilt Guild Co-Presidents, Judy Madden and Nancy Mitchell, acknowledge the spacious area on the second floor of the Plaza Mall. "Our show has the feel and excitement of an art opening for the community, and the Plaza space is perfect to show off the beauty and diversity of quilts." - More....
Monday - February 14, 2005