Week in review

Alaska economy OK -- for now

We've seen a blizzard of horrifying headlines from the Lower 48 in recent months -- mass layoffs, stock market crashes, bank failures, record home foreclosures, the onset of recession and even talk of a depression. So how is Alaska's economy doing? How are you doing? Alaskans, it seems, are faring fine compared to people elsewhere. "We're in a better position than a lot of our sister states," said Dan Robinson, an economist with the Alaska Department of Labor. But look out. We're beginning to see some worrying signs that the recession gripping the rest of the country eventually could bite us here. Among the indicators: rising unemployment, mounting home foreclosures and high credit-card debt.

Tuesday

Providence: No shot, no job

Many of us debate whether to get flu vaccines every year, but at Providence Alaska Medical Center, workers have no choice: The hospital is requiring all employees to get flu shots by year's end or face dismissal. Its new policy is cutting-edge -- and controversial, especially among nurses.

Fishermen see first spill money

The millions of dollars Exxon Mobil Corp. has surrendered as punishment for the Prince William Sound oil spill have started hitting the streets nearly 20 years after the disaster. Several commercial fishermen who joined in the lawsuit against Exxon reported receiving direct deposits in their bank accounts Monday. Paper checks are expected to go out in the mail in the next week. The payments mark the beginning of a process to distribute $383 million among nearly 33,000 commercial fishermen and other plaintiffs.

Wednesday

Colorful Dankworth dead at 80

Ed Dankworth, the larger-than-life Alaskan who served as the state's head state trooper, a legislator, lobbyist and businessman died Saturday in his native Texas. He was 80. Dankworth's multiple careers spanned the history of Alaska from late territorial days through the booms and busts of the oil economy. As Col. M.E. Dankworth, he directed the Alaska State Troopers during the tumultuous run-up to the trans-Alaska pipeline construction, then served in the Legislature when the money started rolling in. He was elected to a term in the House in 1976, then to a term in the Senate in 1978. Dankworth left office under a cloud, facing a criminal charge of using his office for personal gain by trying to sell a pipeline camp to the state. But the case was thrown out after the state Supreme Court ruled he had legislative immunity, and he went on to a long career as a lobbyist.

Thursday

Young ousted from top spot

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Don Young, who wielded considerable power on the House Committee on Natural Resources in the 1990s as chairman and in recent years as its senior Republican, lost his top spot on the panel. The move was forced by Republican leaders who were determining who will assume leadership roles on House committees when Congress begins its new term next year.

Pilot error ruled in fatal crash

A pilot's poor decision-making and inadequate planning caused an August 2007 floatplane crash near Ketchikan that killed six people, including members from three generations of an Oregon family, according to a National Transportation Safety Board accident report. The accident took place about 20 miles north of Ketchikan shortly after a de Havilland DHC-2 floatplane operated by Seawind Aviation left the Traitors Cove area after a two-hour bear-viewing tour. The aircraft, which took off directly into strong winds, banked steeply to the left after going airborne, then crashed into a stand of trees along the bay, sparking a fire.

Friday

Pipeline exec likes guarantees

Bigger federal loan guarantees for the proposed construction of a North Slope natural gas pipeline are one way to address cost increases for the multibillion-dollar project, a TransCanada Corp. executive said. The Canadian pipeline company hasn't pitched the idea yet, said Tony Palmer, TransCanada's vice president for Alaska business development. But the idea has aroused wariness from some in Alaska's congressional delegation and scorn from the TransCanada project's critics.

Saturday

Speed cut on highway bridges

Serious structural problems, including some rotted and split beams, on three Seward Highway bridges have prompted the state Department of Transportation to order a drastic reduction in speed limits that will likely last at least through the winter. Starting Friday, the speed limit was lowered from 55 mph to 20 mph on three bridges in the Trail Lakes area north of Seward, according to the DOT. The bridges are over Ptarmigan Creek, Falls Creek and Trail River, between mileposts 22 and 25, a stretch of highway south of Moose Pass.

Villages face fuel shortfall

Three villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta are scrambling to find enough heating oil to last the winter after an early freeze and other obstacles blocked barges hauling in their seasonal fuel. Fuel costs in Western Alaska rose nearly 50 percent over the past 12 months even as oil and gasoline prices dropped nationwide, according to a state report released this week. The Emmonak corporation expects to run out of heating oil to sell to local homes by the end of January unless it flies in more fuel at extra cost. The Kuskokwim River villages of Kwethluk and Napaskiak, near Bethel, are in the same boat.