Ketchikan: The Arctic Star Raised By CHRIS WILHELM - The Arctic Star, a 50 foot liveaboard, which sank early last Sunday morning in Thomas Basin has been raised.  Harbor officials say they are uncertain what might have caused the sinking. 

Owners Keddy and Terri Gould were out of town and unavailable for comment.  However, the harbor department hired Alaska Commercial Divers to raise the vessel earlier this week in order to prevent any damage to the harbor's floats. The harbor department will continue to monitor the Arctic Star until the owners' return.  - More...
Saturday - October 22, 2005

The Week in Review: Wilma grows into dangerous hurricane

Hurricane Wilma exploded into the most intense Atlantic storm ever recorded and built winds of 175 mph in the western Caribbean. Wilma killed at least 13 people in Haiti and Jamaica before plowing into Cancun, Mexico, on Friday. Wilma was expected to come ashore by Monday in southwestern Florida as a Category 3 or weaker.

Trial of Hussein begins

The mass-murder trial of Saddam Hussein began, and the former Iraqi leader pleaded innocent after defiantly refusing to identify himself and scuffling with security guards. The trial was then adjourned until Nov. 28. Hussein is charged with crimes against humanity stemming from the execution of 143 men and boys from Dujail, 35 miles north of Baghdad.

Inflation jumps in September

Energy prices caused soaring inflation in September, the Labor Department reported. Wholesale prices jumped 1.9 percent, the highest monthly surge in 15 years. Prices for energy-related goods went up 7.1 percent, compared with a 3.7 percent increase in August. The price of natural gas led the way with a 9 percent rise.

Greenspan predicts slower economic growth

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the increase in energy prices caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita will slow global economic growth. "Although the global economic expansion appears to have been on a reasonably firm path through the summer months, the recent surge in energy prices will undoubtedly be a drag from now on," Greenspan said in his first public comments about the storms' economic effects. Greenspan was speaking to Japanese executives in Tokyo.

Aftershocks shake South Asia

The death toll rose to 79,000 in South Asia's earthquake, making it one of the deadliest in modern times. Two strong aftershocks shook the region and caused landslides. Officials said an estimated half-million survivors, many of them in Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, have yet to receive any help since the 7.6-magnitude quake. - More...
Saturday - October 22, 2005

Washington Calling: Republican rage ... Marines in tutus ... other items By LANCE GAY - It's increasingly looking like the GOP is heading towards a real drubbing at the polls next year.

Democratic operatives already are jubilant at the prospect of a repeat of the 1994 balloting, when dissatisfied voters last turned out incumbents and handed the House to Newt Gingrich's Republicans.

What's helping the Democrats is Republican rage at their leaders. Fiscal conservatives are irate at Washington's big-spending ways and evangelical Republicans are searching for action on promised social reforms.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., astonished his colleagues by telling George Washington University College Republicans that the outcome of the 2006 elections doesn't matter. "It's OK if the Republicans lose control ... In the long run ... one (election) cycle won't make a difference, two cycles won't make a difference."

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If any male can wear a tutu, it's a sweaty Marine.

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Leathernecks looking for a T-shirt that keeps the body cool and dry under body armor in 100 degree Fahrenheit desert weather are getting new "Elite Issue" undershirts made by tutu-manufacturer Danskin.

Carol Hochman, president of Danksin, says her company's products already have wider use than just yoga and dancewear, and that Danskin undershirts already allow operatives in Mickey Mouse and Goofy costumes to stay cool under Florida heat at Disney venues. Troops tried the new olive-drab Danskin T-shirts in Iraq's withering climate, and raved about them.

There's another plus: the Danskin T-shirts are treated with an anti-microbial, which does away with sweat odors, leaving the troops smelling as sweet at day's end as they smelled in the morning.

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Rep. Jake Flake, R-Ariz., was one of only two lawmakers to vote against a measure commemorating National Chemistry Week. He explained he's fed up with voting on inconsequential issues. "One would think that with important issues before the Congress, trivial resolutions like this ought to go over like a Pb (lead) balloon. Frankly, this bill didn't hold H2O." The bill passed 366-2.

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The Bartholdi fountain at the foot of Capitol Hill is teetering on its rusting foundations and can't be put back into operation unless taxpayers come up with $4.3 million to fix it, the architect of the Capitol says.

The massive structure, named for Statue of Liberty sculptor Frederick Auguste Bartholdi, cost only $6,000 when it was bought in the 19th century and underwent an extensive overhaul and replumbing in 1986. But recent tests found the structure unstable because two of the three massive bolts holding it to its base are rusted through, and the architect has ordered the water turned off.

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Red-tape warning for victims of Hurricane Katrina: the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reminding residents they require a special federal building permit from FEMA before they can fix even the kitchen cabinets in homes located in Louisiana's 100-year floodplain.

FEMA says the permit process cannot be waived and covers any work "such as removal or replacement of the roof, walls, siding, wallboard, plaster, insulation, paneling, cabinets, flooring, electrical system, plumbing, heating or air conditioning." The agency says it needs to monitor all construction activities in the 100-year flood plain as part of its responsibilities in administering federal flood insurance. - More...
Saturday - October 22, 2005