Week in review

Green businesses flourish

When Deborah O'Leary started Greenware Alaska in April -- selling biodegradable disposable containers out of her garage-- she had no idea that six months later she'd need a warehouse and a delivery man to keep up with demand. The market Outside for products like O'Leary's has been strong for years, but here in Alaska national trends are slow to catch on. It's just recently that consumer interest in environmentally friendly products has reached critical mass.

Oil prices pinch state budget

FAIRBANKS -- With crude oil prices continuing to fall, state officials are scrambling to figure out how lower prices will affect Alaska. As much as 90 percent of the state's budget consists of money from taxes and fees on oil companies. Gov. Sarah Palin is expected to release her budget for fiscal year 2010 in about three weeks. Her communications director, Bill McAllister, said it "will be as frugal as we can make it."

TUESDAY

First part of spill money on tap

Thousands of Alaska fishermen and other plaintiffs should receive their portions of punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez oil spill lawsuit before the end of November, a federal judge said. Judge H. Russel Holland ordered the release of $151 million of the negotiated $383 million settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed in the nation's worst oil spill nearly two decades ago.

Rock Creek mining shuts down

Gold production at the new Rock Creek mine near Nome has been suspended indefinitely while its Canadian owner struggles to overcome mounting debts and other major setbacks. NovaGold Resources Inc. announced the open-pit mine has suffered from unexpected mechanical problems, including an electrical failure that shut down its mill. The company said it was concerned that the mine might not meet all of the environmental conditions imposed by regulators.

WEDNESDAY

Ring ran drugs to Alaska

Submachine guns and violence were part of the game for a dozen suspected drug traffickers accused of smuggling cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to Alaska by the pound for years until the operation was recently brought to its knees, its members indicted on drug conspiracy charges that could net them life in prison. Beginning in 2005, operatives led by Juan Manuel Mendiola, 27, shipped drugs from Van Nuys, Calif., to at least nine addresses in Anchorage using United Parcel Service and FedEx, the U.S. attorney's office said. During the investigation that yielded the breakup of the ring, federal, city and state officials seized 6 kilograms of cocaine, 500 grams of heroin, 1 kilogram of methamphetamine, more than a dozen firearms and more than $100,000 in cash.

THURSDAY

Hospital attack leaves 1 dead

An ex-employee returned to Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna a day after being fired and staged a shooting spree that left one of his ex-supervisors dead and another critically injured before he was fatally shot in a standoff with authorities. Mike Webb, 55, died about two hours after Joseph Marchetti fired multiple shots just before 10 a.m. inside the hospital. Marchetti was later shot by police in the hospital parking lot.

Women Seawolves take title

The UAA Seawolves women are Shootout champions again, and if you saw the mix of sweat and tears as the players celebrated Wednesday evening, you have an idea of what this championship means -- and how hard it was to secure. The Seawolves beat an athletic Syracuse team that plagued them all night with suffocating defense and superior size, surviving a furious final minute to capture their third straight tournament title with a 58-57 victory at Sullivan Arena.

FRIDAY

Citgo to offer more free fuel

With heating oil prices approaching $10 a gallon in rural Alaska and reports of neighbors stealing fuel from neighbors to warm their homes, a Venezuela-owned oil company plans to deliver free fuel to villages again this winter. That's what a Citgo executive who oversees the company's free-heating-oil program told the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council earlier this month, said council director Steve Osborne. Citgo has provided roughly 15,000 Alaska village households 100 gallons of heating oil each for the past two winters. If the company donates the same amount this year, some families will save as much as $1,000 on their fuel bills. It's part of a program providing assistance to low-income communities in 23 states.

SATURDAY

Avalanche risk rises in pass

As rain fell on Portage and the mountains thundered high above, Chugach National Forest avalanche ranger Carl Skustad feared disasters that the combination of unstable snow and impatient skiers might bring. Alaska is the national leader in death by avalanche. About a quarter of all American avalanche fatalities happen in the 49th state.