National: Draft? Uncle Sam REALLY doesn't want you By LISA HOFFMAN - If you want to see Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld pull out his silver hair, just ask him if there is going to be a military draft.

Over and over since the war in Iraq began, rumors of a reinstated draft have whizzed around the Internet, college campuses and anti-war gatherings.

Time after time, Rumsfeld, U.S. Selective Service officials and a host of others have said, emphatically and unequivocally, that a draft is not only unneeded, but also unwanted. - More...
Friday - June 03, 2005

National: Woodward, Bernstein talk about Felt, Watergate By BILL STRAUB - Former FBI official W. Mark Felt, the man now universally identified as "Deep Throat," was "in turmoil, profound ambivalence" over his role in tearing down the presidency of Richard Nixon, according to the journalist who transformed him into a cultural icon, and never "felt totally comfortable with it."

Bob Woodward, the Washington post reporter who combined with Carl Bernstein to break the famous story of the June 1972 Watergate break-in that culminated in Nixon's resignation a little more than two years later, said on CNN's Larry King show Thursday night that Felt thought he may have been breaking a secret FBI code when he decided to help the young reporter. But, Woodward said, he "found it his duty" - More...
Friday - June 03, 2005

Science: Scientists map out genes for extinct cave bear By LEE BOWMAN - It's not Jurassic Park, but for the first time scientists have diagrammed large quantities of genetic material from the teeth and bones of an extinct species - a cave bear that died out 20,000 years ago.

The technique developed by researchers at a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory in California and described in a report published online Friday by the journal Science, holds promise for new analysis of another species that disappeared about the same time - Neanderthals. - More...
Friday - June 03, 2005

Washington Calling: A not-to-do list ... Pension woes ... Personal finances ... More By MARY DEIBEL - Congress returns from the Memorial Day recess to face President Bush's call to do "four good things" that are easier said than done:

- A bipartisan Senate energy bill lacks controversial House-passed provisions approving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling, $8 billion in tax breaks plus billions more in direct federal aid, setting the stage for knockdown negotiations. - More...
Friday - June 03, 2005

Week In Review: Deep Throat revealed! ... Ohio rampage ... More By BILL STRAUB - The transitional government in Iraq confirmed this week that it has asked the U.S. military to remain beyond the end of the year and announced plans to try ousted strongman Saddam Hussein sometime this summer. - More...
Friday - June 03, 2005

'Girl Scouts' Photo courtesy Priscilla Barnett Ketchikan: The Girl Scouts Troop #55 recently shared their last meeting together reflecting, singing, laughing, and bridging to the next level. - More... Friday - June 03, 2005

Alaska: All-Alaska gas line loses funds By SEAN COCKERHAM - The backers of an all-Alaska natural gas pipeline have lost the financial backing that allowed them to launch a statewide advertising blitz starring former governors.

The proposal by the Alaska Gasline Port Authority is one of three to move natural gas from the North Slope to market. The loss of backing by San Diego-based Sempra Energy puts the proposal in question.

Sempra blamed political obstacles.

"The protracted political wrestling taking place in Alaska is costly and very time consuming," Sempra president Darcel Hulse wrote in a letter to port authority officials. "While all this is taking place, the West Coast market is being actively pursued by others." - More...
Friday - June 03, 2005

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Re: protecting the community By Jessica Mathews - Saturday Laura Bush for President By Carol Spaits - Friday The Bridge to Gravina By Joe Branco - Friday Retort Gravina Bridge: PETE ELLIS By Don Hoff Jr. - Friday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Segregated Senate By: RJ Matson, Roll Call Distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons, Inc. Political Cartoonists Ketchikan Editorial Cartoonist Roger Maynard May - June 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 29 30 31 01 02     Front Page Archives

Alaska: Current volcano monitoring has gaps By Ned Rozell - Last July, hundreds of small earthquakes began rattling Mount Spurr a few miles beneath its snowy summit each day. In response, scientists with the Alaska Volcano Observatory flew to its flanks 80 miles due west of Anchorage. They rushed to install five new seismic stations to better record the shaking. They also installed three GPS stations to see if the mountain was inflating like a balloon due to the pressure of molten rock.

"We got lucky Spurr acted up in summer," Tom Murray, scientist-in-charge at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said recently. "In winter, with the ground frozen and less light, it would have been difficult to mount such a response."

Murray and other volcano-watchers throughout the U.S. dislike the current scrambling it currently takes to outfit the most dangerous of the nation's 169 volcanoes with state of the art instruments. He and researchers at the U.S. volcano observatories have written a report that reveals gaps in the nation's volcano monitoring, many of them in Alaska. Murray said the report outlines the holes, but also maps how the volcano observatories hope to fix the problem. - More...
Friday - June 3, 2005

Alaska: U.S. Capitol Serenaded by Sweet Adelines - Thursday, Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) invited the Sweet Adelines from Fairbanks, Alaska to perform on the steps of the United States Capitol.
 
"It was a great honor to have the Sweet Adelines perform here in Washington, D.C.  They are a wonderful group of women with terrific voices, and they performed a beautiful rendition of the Alaska Flag Song," said Stevens. - More...
Friday - June 3, 2005

Alaska: Gov. Murkowski Signs Three Streamlining Bills - Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski signed into law three bills intended to make easier the permit process for rural roads and oil and gas development.

"Part of our agenda for change involves taking control of our resources, eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy without lessening our environmental standards and making common sense changes to get our state moving," Murkowski said. "These bills accomplish those goals."

Senate Bill 103, by request of the governor, gives the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission the authority to regulate all underground injection wells used in the oil and gas industry. Currently, the state regulates Class II wells while the EPA regulates Class I wells.

This change will result in quicker action on permit applications and create a single, uniform process for regulating underground injection to improve efficiency and reduce confusion in the permitting process. - More...
Friday - June 3, 2005