Alaska: Disputes rise over sharing ANWR's wealth By TOM KIZZIA - A bitter rift over one regional Native corporation's exclusive rights to future oil revenues from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is bursting into public view with a call from other regional corporations for Congress to change the deal before it opens the refuge to drilling.

Saying it's a matter of fairness and justice, leaders of Sealaska Corp. and several other regions are preparing a last-minute pitch asking Congress to force the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. to share future oil revenues with other Native corporations. The stakes could involve hundreds of millions of dollars spread among the shareholders of other regions and villages. - More...
Monday PM - November 28, 2005

National: U.S. alters nuclear weapons policy By JAMES STERNGOLD - After struggling in recent years to redefine U.S. nuclear policy, Congress turned the country in a new direction this month by giving millions of dollars for a program aimed at producing a smaller arsenal of more reliable warheads.

Lawmakers killed the widely criticized nuclear "bunker buster" concept, which critics regarded as too aggressive, and instead appropriated $25 million for research on what is called the reliable replacement warhead, or RRW. Though that initial sum is relatively modest, it signifies an important policy shift that could end up costing many billions of dollars.

Even some arms control advocates have applauded the decision, because many see the new program as a sharp scaling back of the Bush administration's once soaring nuclear ambitions. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

'Sunrise' Front Page Photo By Darlene Woolley

National: GOP hopes fortunes will improve after recess By MARGARET TALEV - For the Republicans who run Congress, it may be time to think inside the box.

Toward the end of a year in which so many external forces chipped away at their agenda - the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, two Supreme Court vacancies - leaders now face a challenge of how to manage curveballs inside their ranks.

Republican lawmakers have bucked their leadership on several recent votes, as they weigh midterm elections in 2006, low voter regard for President Bush and indicted ex-Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and an interim House leadership team considered less punitive or in command than when DeLay was in charge. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

National: Deficit cracking GOP's solidarity By CAROLYN LOCHHEAD - More than a decade after the Republican Revolution, when Newt Gingrich became House speaker on the promise to downsize government, Republicans are facing another revolution.

This one is from within.

When Congress returns next month from its Thanksgiving recess, Republican leaders who have never failed to marshal their forces on big party-line votes face the prospect of defeat on tax cuts and spending restraint - the core issues that have united the party since President Ronald Reagan and gave them their House majority in 1994. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

Match of the Month Little Moments. Big Magic. Gail and Alex at the NEW YORK CAFE in Ketchikan

People of Ketchikan: Match of the Month By Nancy Coggins - Meet "Big Sister" Gail Matz and "Little Sister" Alex. They've been matched by Big Brothers Big Sisters for over nine months and do everything from attending exhibits and audio-visuals at Ketchikan's Southeast Alaska Discovery Center; to playing air hockey; to building a fire in the shelter at Ward Lake for roasting marshmallows and making hot chocolate; to walking on trails.

Alex says her favorite activity is writing. She and Gail are currently collaborating on a story about a boy who disrupts the class at school, and Alex plans to add her perception of what can be done to solve this challenge. She has already drawn pictures of all the characters. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

National: Teachers sleepy in class too, study finds By LEE BOWMAN - Remember those magic moments in class when the teacher pulled down the blinds, lowered the lights and fired up the VCR or movie projector? For a certain percentage of students, K through grad school, movie days are more likely to turn into naptime.

But kids who find themselves dozing off in class might be surprised to learn their teachers are often just as sleep-deprived, according to a recent survey. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

National: Homemade food back in vogue By LANCE GAY - America is regaining its taste of regional foods.

Once a niche market involving local foodie enthusiasts rebelling against factory farming and the one-taste-fits-all approach of America's giant food manufacturers, handmade or artisanal food is booming.- More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

Tax Talk: Tax tips for the holidays By MARY DEIBEL - With Thanksgiving and Friday's Christmas-shopping kickoff, the 2005 holidays have arrived and that makes it time for year-end tax planning.

Waiting to cut your 2005 tax bill until it's due Monday, April 17, 2006, can cost you dearly.

Those at risk from the Alternative Minimum Tax need to start figuring now if they can take steps to avoid being slapped by this parallel tax system, which denies favorite deductions like state and local tax write-offs for people with hefty incomes, big capital gains, stock options or large families. - More....
Monday - November 28, 2005

Beyond The Gate Peacocks: Sidney and Shelly Photo by M.C. Kauffman

Ketchikan Lifestyle: Beyond The Gate By Nancy Coggins - Their street is ordinary. Even their gate. But here's a glimpse of what's beyond the gate at Dick and Mary Kauffman's unbelievable and extraordinary retirement home where they produce their community outreach in SitNews.

Once you're inside the gate, the action begins.

You hardly have time to admire the vibrant greens of the huge rhododendrons or ask about all the animal holes that are at the base of the spruce trees because you're receiving an outstanding welcome in the form of a barked chorus from their four dogs. They all want to jump up on you at once, showing they appreciate your visit. Their actions say, "We're so happy to see you!" - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Hedge funds and the Permanent Fund By James R. Dahl - Monday Gas pipeline By Ted A. Wright - Monday Open Letter: To the Alaska Legislature By James R. Dahl & Mary Lynne Dahl - Monday ANWR by Glenn Bell - Monday Questions By Peg Travis - Monday KYFL Raffle By Bob Fultz- Sunday Governor faces his greatest challenge By Walter J. Hickel - Sunday Bridge Critics '1' - Democracy '0' by Jim Dornblaser - Saturday Trimming the fat? By Don Hoff Jr. - Saturday No Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge By Erica Hoff - Saturday Bridges to our future By Robin Craviotto - Thursday Opportunity presented By John Stewart - Thursday Slanted picture of Alaska painted By Carl Thompson - Thursday Free and open expression of opinions By Walt Bolling - Thursday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan Thursday, December 01, 2005 7:00 pm - The Ketchikan City Council will hold a regular meeting in the City Council Chambers. Agenda & Information Packets November Calendar Today's Forecast Current AK Weather Map City Police Report 11/26/05 AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements November 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       Front Page Archives

Laine Welch: Amazing Gifts From the Sea - Almost everyone knows that eating fish is good for your health. But there's so much more to seafood than just putting it in your mouth. At this time of giving thanks, let us appreciate the many amazing gifts from the sea.

Sponge Bob, for example, could be the next rage in fiber optics. Researchers at Bell Labs have found that the sponge euplectella, also called the Venus flower basket, grows a network of glass fibers more advanced than the ones found in today's telecommunications networks. And unlike man made fibers, they are incredibly strong and don't fracture, meaning no costly repairs. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

Bill Steigerwald: Interior Secretary Norton: The Drill on ANWR - Thanks to this summer's energy headaches, the Bush administration is pushing harder than usual to get Congress to open up the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling. Located on the North Slope of Alaska, ANWR contains at least 10.4 billion barrels of oil and at $50 a barrel is worth half a trillion bucks.

The administration's chief cheerleader for permitting the careful exploitation of ANWR is Gale Norton, the market-savvy Secretary of the Interior, which manages 20 percent of the land of the United States. I talked to her Nov. 17 by telephone from her offices in Washington: - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

Dave Kiffer: Tanzanite Basin - It's going to be a long winter and no I'm not referring to the darkness, the icky weather or even the dozens of local folks chewing off their arms to extricate themselves from domestic entanglements.

I just can't wait for the spring because, next year I'm going to make a killing in tanzanite.

You laugh, but a couple of weeks ago, I learned something that shocked me about mining in Southeast Alaska and I thought I already knew everything there was to know. My great-grandfather was mining here in the 1890s. It's in the blood. Like a spirochete. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005

Preston MacDougall: Chemical Eye on Counting our Blessings - Even if the poetic genius of William Blake is new to your ears, how can you fail to hear the voice of an idealist? To my chemical ear, which has a fondness for history, I can also hear the sound of someone trying to apply the brakes to a runaway train of deterministic thinking.

To Blake, the idea of "a clockwork universe" - where the future could be determined with certainty if enough measurements could be made with high-enough precision - would be truly frightening if it wasn't totally absurd. He was right, of course, one hundred years before quantum theory forced on us a certain amount of uncertainty. - More...
Monday - November 28, 2005