Ketchikan: Ketchikan Fly-In Group - Participants of the Ketchikan Fly-In, Dick Coose, Jason Harris and Blaine Ashcroft speak with Senator Lisa Murkowski about her support of the Gravina Island Access project Wednesday afternoon at the state Capitol. Senator Murkowski was in Juneau, Wednesday speaking to the legislature. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

National: Obscure agency at center of ports affair By JAMES ROSEN - Five years ago - or even five days ago - it was just another obscure federal agency, one of thousands with alphabet-soup acronyms and quiet missions performed beyond the glare of public scrutiny.

Today, though, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States is at the center of a raucous political fight over port security - and, more broadly, at the heart of an ongoing national debate over Americans' attitudes toward Arab nations since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

President Bush's aides acknowledged Wednesday that he hadn't been informed of a decision by the committee - CFIUS, for acronym lovers - to approve the pending purchase by a United Arab Emirates-owned company of a British firm that helps run six major American ports. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

National: High-tech tracking devices among new tools for ports By DAVID ARMSTRONG - In the darkest days of World War II, Britain's Royal Air Force developed an identification system called Friend or Foe, based on radio frequencies, to tell its own planes from hostile German fighters.

These days, sophisticated descendants of that pioneering system are being deployed to track commercial cargo on ships, airplanes and trucks - to ensure the system is safe from terrorists and thieves.

That task has been given much more importance after Sept. 11, when fears of a terrorist weapon hidden in cargo container rose sharply. The fear of terror was raised again in recent days, as a company in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai Ports World, won Washington's permission to operate terminals at six major U.S. ports including New York and New Orleans. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

National: Civilian contractors: Invisible casualties of Iraq By ALEJANDRA FERNANDEZ-MORERA - During his year in Iraq as a top security contractor, Michael Heidingsfield watched his employees perish at the rate of one a month, all victims of roadside bombs set by anti-American insurgents.

Heidingsfield, now safely home in Germantown, Tenn., lost 13 colleagues in just 13 months. They were seven American and six South African security experts recruited by DynCorp International to help train Iraqi police.

"What is even more tragic is that I have been back six weeks and eight more have been killed," said Heidingsfield, 55, who in December ended his tour as contingent commander of the State Department's Police Advisory Mission in Iraq. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

National: Uncle Sam grabbing his share of jackpot By MARY DEIBEL - Eight co-workers from a Nebraska meat-processing plant who claimed the record Powerball jackpot Wednesday won't come close to banking an eighth of the winning ticket's $365 million payout.

Uncle Sam and Nebraska automatically withhold income tax so the winners from ConAgra's Lincoln, Neb., ham-packing plant each can expect to see $15.5 million after taxes - assuming they split their winnings equally.

By law, Nebraska withholds 5 percent state income tax and 25 percent federal income tax up front from lottery winnings of $5,000 or more. State authorities also check for back taxes and child support, both of which are subtracted from winnings, and Nebraska's tax collector will hunt down winning Cornhuskers who decide to take their lottery winnings and retire to Florida, where there is no state income tax. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Boyd Porter demonstrates an easy method of transporting a deer by turning it into a backpack. Photo by Marie L. Monyak

Ketchikan: Discovering Big Game Field Care By MARIE L. MONYAK - Every Friday evening, October through April, the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center sponsors a Friday Night Insight Program from 7-8 pm. This is a free audiovisual and speaker program held in their comfortable theatre on subjects concerning Alaska's ecosystem, wildlife, natural resources, native cultures and public lands.

The presentation last Friday was more of a hands-on how-to class on the proper skinning methods and meat care techniques of big game, namely Sitka Black Tail Deer.

When you look at Bambi, do you think, "Oh, how adorable," or "Mmmm, Venison?" Unless you are thinking in terms of dinner, you may not wish to continue reading beyond this point.

Wildlife Biologist, Boyd Porter, from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Charlie Miller better known as "The Meat Man" from Alaskan and Proud, with the assistance of Lon Rake, brought along a confiscated Sitka Black-tailed deer that was illegally shot this past September and kept frozen until the nights demonstration. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

National: As temps drop, concerns about hypothermia rise By THOMAS HARGROVE - As this winter plods along, here's a fact to chill the blood: An average of 689 American freeze to death each year.

Medical experts complain that hypothermia is almost always preventable. But dozens of people have frozen to death in recent days as the sudden February cold snap threatens hundreds of homeless and elderly people living on the streets or in inadequately heated structures. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Match of the Month By Nancy Coggins Ketchikan: Match of the Month By Nancy Coggins - Meet "Big Sister" Miriam and "Little Sister" Pauline. They've been matched for over a year and have fun doing everything from participating in an intergenerational party at the Pioneers' Home and other Big Brothers Big Sisters'-sponsored events, to walking together in the Mall, to shopping for groceries, to eating out -- especially savoring Chinese fried rice, one of their favorites. In fact, since both love to eat, dining often precedes their meeting activities. - More... Thursday - February 23, 2006

National: Lethal- injection method on trial across the U.S. By BOB EGELKO - Lethal injection, firmly established as the method of execution in the United States for the last decade, now appears to be on shakier ground.

San Quentin State Prison officials' inability to meet conditions laid down this week by a federal judge for the execution of a rapist-murderer makes California the fourth state in which the future of lethal injections has been thrown into doubt. No executions can take place in California at least until May, when the judge will hold the state's first-ever hearings on whether injections are constitutional. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

National: For doctors, the debate goes beyond executions By DORSEY GRIFFITH - Physician refusal to help the state of California take the life of a death row convict has opened a lively debate about the role of doctors in other controversial procedures some deem tantamount to murder.

Can a doctor's injection of a lethal dose of sedative ever be humane? How does physician-assisted execution of a convicted murderer differ from a doctor's performance of an abortion? Does it make a difference if the person put to death had wanted to be killed? - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Exterior light for emergencies By Jerry Cegelske - Thursday PM Moving Marine Highway Southern Terminus Foolish By Doug Barry - Thursday PM Progress is the keyword By Frances C. Natkong - Thursday PM Get Involved By Bill Thomas Sr. - Thursday PM Drug Abuse Among the Youth By Libby Johnson - Thursday PM It begins with the family By Sandra Rusin McCray - Thursday PM VANCOUVER FERRY TERMINUS AN EXCELLENT IDEA By Pete Ellis - Wednesday AM Dock project By Anita Hales - Wednesday AM What's wrong with you people! By Rick Watson - Wednesday AM Drug problems By Wanda Pew - Wednesday AM Ketchikan's troubled youth By Renee Tacker - Wednesday AM Ketchikan In The 50's By Pat Moore - Wednesday AM If ALL parents showed an interest? By Neil Gray - Wednesday AM No one solution to the drug/drinking problem By Ben Rosenfeld - Wednesday AM "All that they can be" By Mark Neckameyer - Wednesday AM Pressure to Pass ANWR By Rob Glenn - Wednesday AM Golden Gate Bridge By Mary Currie - Wednesday AM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan March 01, 2006, Wednesday - 6:00 pm - Teleconferenced CONSTITUENT MEETING with SENATOR STEDMAN, REPRESENTATIVE ELKINS  & REPRESENTATIVE WILSON at the Ketchikan Legislative Information Office, 50 Front Street, Suite 203. Snacks will be served! - This is an informal teleconference for members of the community to discuss issues or concerns with local legislators.  Persons interested in attending may contact the LIO at 225-9675. March 01, 2006, Wednesday - Tongass School of Arts & Sciences begins enrollment for Fall 2006 school year. Enrolling Kindergarten - 6th grades. TSAS Information February Calendar Today's Forecast Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements February 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S    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         Front Page Archives

National: Feds trying to further scope out extent of cyber-crime By LISA HOFFMAN - One of the persistent unknowns in the battle against cyber-crime is the true scope of the problem.

Since the Internet revolution began a decade ago, U.S. businesses have been so reluctant to report cyber-victimization that experts believe the toll may be substantially higher than anyone estimates, law-enforcement officials say. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Betsy Hart: On working mothers - Ah, the Mommy Wars. Why is it that arguments between women are always relegated to some kind of "catfight"?

So it was on ABC's "Good Morning America" this week when law professor Linda Hirshman said that "privileged, educated women who choose to stay at home to raise their children are hurting themselves and others." Census data shows that fully 54 percent of mothers with professional or graduate degrees do not work full time, and this drives women like Hirschman nuts.

Not so Debbie Klett who, with a master's degree in nursing, started a magazine called "Total 180" for educated moms who head home. She now works from home herself. "For me, I feel it is vital to be there for my children every day ... to be a loving, caring mom every minute of the day," Klett said. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Michael Reagan: Riding Toward A Fall - After Jimmy Carter gave away the Panama Canal, my father, Ronald Reagan, grabbed hold of the issue and never let go. He rode that horse all the way into the White House.

President Bush needs to think about that because if he fails to back down and at least give the opponents of the Dubai ports deal a chance to be heard, the Democrats are going to mount this gift horse and ride it into the White House just as my Dad did with an issue Jimmy Carter handed to him. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Dick Morris: Look Out, Here Comes Al - Like a completely refurbished "pre-owned vehicle," Al Gore seems to be positioning himself to Hillary Clinton's left and as greener than John Kerry for a run at the 2008 Democratic nomination for president. His slogan might well read "reelect Al Gore."

The former vice president's slashing attacks on the administration and his stalwart, if misguided, opposition to the Iraq war leave him without the complications and complexes that will devil Clinton as she seeks to appeal to the unforgiving left of the Democratic Party. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006

Dale McFeatters: Any port in a political storm - The political firestorm over port security shows American politics at their most shameless and, for a change, President Bush is on the receiving end of it.

National security has always been the Republicans' - and the president's - best issue, and regardless of what Bush believes about the ins and outs of port management, congressional Republicans are not going to let it get away from them. And Democrats see a rare opportunity to get to the right of Bush on the issue.

Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., wrote an open letter to Bush saying, "In regards to selling American ports to the United Arab Emirates, not just NO but HELL NO!" Aside from getting her facts wrong - it's not a sale, but contracts to manage the ports - it would have been unthinkable just a year ago, in the lingering flow of Bush's second inaugural, for a Republican backbencher to address the president this way. - More...
Thursday - February 23, 2006