Alaska Ketchikan: Bridge fight conjures up facts from nowhere - To much of America, Alaska's famous "bridges to nowhere" are icons of pork-barrel spending, and misstatements abound as the legend of the $452 million is retold. - Read this ADN story... Anchorage Daily News - www.adn.com Monday - October 31, 2005

Alaska: Alaska avian flu project issues initial surveillance results; Deadly bird flu not in Alaska, yet - So far, so good. Although only a few of the results are in, the University of Alaska Program on the Biology and Epidemiology of Avian Influenza in Alaska reported Friday that none of the samples taken from migratory waterfowl in the state this summer and screened to date have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus being reported in Eurasia. Next summer the news may not be so good.

Alaska is at the overlap for parts of the Asian and North American flyways for migratory birds which scientists say could provide an opportunity for exchange of bird flu viruses which then could lead to the evolution of new strains of viruses that could infect humans.- More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Alaska: Study: Arctic undergoing holistic climate-change response - From glaciers to caribou, rivers to roads, Arctic climate change is having a broad effect on almost every aspect of life in the North. That's the conclusion University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers and others outline in a paper to be published in the October 2005 issue of the journal "Climatic Change."

The paper is a result of decades of research by dozens of scientists in multiple disciplines, said Larry Hinzman, a research professor with UAF's Water and Environmental Research Center and the paper's lead author. It is one of the first of its kind to present a comprehensive examination of the broad array of effects attributed to a changing climate within the Arctic and shows that warming has a cascading effect on the land, vegetation, animals, weather and human systems. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Alaska: Governor Outraged by Supreme Court Same-Sex Ruling; Directed AG to draft legislation to correct ruling - Alaska Governor Frank H. Murkowski will propose a constitutional amendment to correct a state Supreme Court ruling that would require the state to extend public employment-related benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of employees and retirees, he said Friday. The state also stands to incur additional costs as a consequence of this ruling, the governor said.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday in Alaska Civil Liberties Union vs. State of Alaska and Municipality of Anchorage that denial of retirement, health insurance and survivor benefits violates the equal protection of the state constitution. The court rejected the argument that the 1998 Marriage Amendment to Alaska Constitution precluded the challenge by same-sex couples. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

National: Hunger in America rises by 43 percent over last five years; More than 38 million Americans go hungry, including nearly 14 million children - Hunger in American households has risen by 43 percent over the last five years, according to an analysis of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data released Friday. The analysis, completed by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University, shows that more than 7 million people have joined the ranks of the hungry since 1999.

The USDA report, Household Food Security in the United States, 2004, says that 38.2 million Americans live in households that suffer directly from hunger and food insecurity, including nearly 14 million children. That figure is up from 31 million Americans in 1999. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Evon Zerbetz chats with one of the over 225 people who attended the Raucous! Opening. Photo courtesy Ketchikan Museums

Ketchikan: Raucous! Everything Raven - This fall, ravens will rule the roost at the Tongass Historical Museum! October 14th marked the opening of Raucous! Everything Raven, an exhibit that celebrates Corvus corax in art, legend, and natural history.

Ketchikan linocut artist Evon Zerbetz is the originator and guest curator of Raucous! Her whimsical raven art-works (many created for her most recent book illustration project, Ten Rowdy Ravens) are featured in the show, along with raven art by other Alaska artists.

The sights and sounds of ravens in all their attitudes surround visitors as they explore raven-related subjects ranging from eating habits (French fries rank among their favorite foods) to their amazing intellect and their ability to solve complex problems. There will be raven games for children and challenges for young and old to solve, based on knowledge of all things raven. A comfortable reading area, complete with an original, raven-design sofa and coffee table books, will be available for those wishing to expand their raven knowledge. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Halloween Hats, Pumpkins & Ghosts Front Page Photo by Elizabeth Flom Ketchikan: Halloween Hats, Pumpkins & Ghosts By ELIZABETH FLOM - Story craft hour focused on the subject of Halloween at the Ketchikan Children's Library Thursday. Featured were howling stories, a spook-tacular movie, and an activity hand-crafting ghostly Halloween necklaces. - More... Monday - October 31, 2005

National: WWII mystery stirs hope for family By M.S. ENKOJI - Sadie Munn boarded a train and headed to Sacramento in 1942 for a memorial service for her firstborn child, a military airman who had crashed high in the Sierra Nevada.

She was hoping for answers: Why did he die? When will they find his body? - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

National: Libby indictment sheds little light on Cheney's activities By BILL STRAUB - I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's indictment on charges stemming from the leaking of an undercover CIA operative's identity is once again shifting focus to the hardball tactics employed by the office of Vice President Dick Cheney in defense of the war in Iraq.

Cheney, who served as secretary of defense under the elder President Bush during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of war with Iraq, aligning himself with neo-conservatives in the Pentagon. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

National: Days of Fed chief as economic wizard may be over By MARY DEIBEL - Despite his reputation as an outspoken Federal Reserve governor, economist Ben Bernanke may be a less visible Fed chairman than Alan Greenspan, whose Delphic pronouncements have held the power to move markets here and abroad.

Bernanke's interest in "inflation targeting" would end much of the Fed's mystery by setting explicit goals for inflation control. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Billions in profits for the world's fat cats By Michael P. Moyer - Monday AM Is the tech industry starting to catch on? By Rick Grams - Monday AM Maybe the best thing for your health is... By Rob Glenn - Monday AM Volcker Report By Shashi Shekhar - Monday AM More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political cartoons Ketchikan Calendar, Meetings, Events Today's Forecast City Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements October 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S 25 26 27 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           Front Page Archives

Laine Welch: UFA Gives Thumbs Down To Plan To Dole Out DAP's For Groundfish - United Fishermen of Alaska - now one of the nation's largest fisheries groups - gave a big thumbs down to a plan that would dole out DAP's for groundfish to what many feel is a privileged few. Senate Bill 113 has been one of the most hotly contested fish issues since it was proposed during last year's legislative session by Senator Ben Stevens of Anchorage. The bill proposes a system of Dedicated Access Privileges for fishermen based on their historical groundfish catches in state water fisheries. DAP's are de rigueur of federal managers who are "rationalizing" many fisheries under their purview, meaning three to 20 miles offshore. The state is struggling to develop a framework that will mesh with the federal plan. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Dave Kiffer: Termination Dust - In early July, I found a wooley bear caterpillar the size of my thumb crawling across the sand at Bugge Beach.

I was surprised to find that such a creature existed in these climes. It was big and black and brownish red and very furry. Later I told a friend about it.

"Were the black stripes wider than the reddish-brown ones?" he asked. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Dale McFeatters: It's crass, it's commercial, it's ours - Not that you need a reason to celebrate Halloween, but here's one: It really annoys Europeans of the stripe who see the United States as a symbol of everything crass, commercial and culturally threatening.

The American-style celebration of Halloween - costumes, candy, parties - has been growing in popularity in Europe, and this has alarmed those who see unregulated American-style fun as a threat to the culture. - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

John Hall: Fightin' men and fightin' words - The neo-conservative winners of the Oval Office wrestling match that preceded the Iraq war have long ago seized their laurels, and soldier-statesman Colin Powell slumped away in defeat. But you get the feeling this struggle still is an open wound for the vanquished.

Retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson was Powell's chief of staff at the State department for more than four years. In a recent speech to the New American Foundation, he charged that an Oval Office "cabal" overran the bureaucracy in a "secret decision making process." - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005

Bob Ciminel: Vindication of the "Robber Barons" - Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, many organizations failed New Orleans. FEMA failed New Orleans. The State of Louisiana failed New Orleans. New Orleans' city government failed New Orleans. The railroads did not fail New Orleans.

Shortly after Katrina destroyed 26 miles of CSX corporations tracks along the Gulf Coast, including the 10,000-foot long bridge over Bay St. Louis, and nine miles of Norfolk Southern Corporation's tracks in and around the city, including the 5.8-mile long Lake Pontchartrain bridge, Norfolk Southern CEO, David Goode, was able to say, "Lines are open; trains are moving." - More...
Monday - October 31, 2005