ADN editors find the news from all over Alaska every morning so you don't have to. Updated weekdays by 9 a.m. AST. (Some links may require registration)
Skagway mourns the killing of a white or glacier bear believed to be protected.
Garrett McNmara and Kealii Mamala rode into surfing history when they towed into a monster tsunami created by Child's Glacier in Southcentral Alaska.
Get the web-eye view of Fourth and E, the port and Sleeping Lady, Tudor and Lake Otis -- even McGrath's airport ramp.
Two polar bears contemplate the causes of global warming and exactly what it is that's messing with their lives. (youtube.com)
Modern-day moose are widening their turf. Experts say they're now thriving in a new landscape. Habitat changes - spurred by increasing human influences - have allowed them to break out of isolated strongholds in recent decades. (The Associated Press)
Jonathan Harris of New York City, traveled to Barrow and put together this imaginative arrangement of photographs of a whale hunt. Thousands of pictures are involved. (thewhalehunt.org)
William Henry Seward, credited with negotiating the purchase of Alaska, owes the Tongass Tribe a debt - and a shame pole in Saxman aims to keep the memory alive. (ketchikandailynews.com - requires registration)
As seen from the International Space Station, the northern lights take on a whole new look. (spaceweather.com)
Today's news for the Last Frontier
Published: May 16th, 2008 10:32 AM
Last Modified: May 16th, 2008 10:32 AM
Teck Cominco settles with Kivalina over water pollution from Red Dog Mine. This comes from Bloomberg.com this morning. Villagers sued in 2002, claiming massive Clean Water Act violations dating back to the 1990s. The village is 50 miles from what Teck calls the world's largest zinc mine. Operators do have a federal permit to discharge treated wastewater into a creek, where local residents fish and take drinking water.
, center. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News archive)&sec=224&width=800&height=524 "Click to enlarge")
Click to enlarge
Joker the Bailbondsman (Sean Sullivan), center. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News archive)
Story tools
Teck's lawyers had nothing to say yesterday, but they were facing a tough ruling by U.S. District Judge John Sedwick that made them liable for 824 violations and 1,608 alleged violations if the case went to court. Luke Cole, representing Kivalina in the suit, had said earlier in May that the company faced fines totaling as much as $63.5 million. Ouch.
***
Hickel to Palin: Sell Alaska gas to China. KTUU reports that former Gov. Wally Hickel is headed to Gov. Sarah Palin's office to convince her Alaska's future is tied to China, linked by an all-Alaska pipeline with gas exported not to the U.S. but to the rest of the world.
"Build a pipeline to Valdez, four foot at least in diameter," he said. "That takes care of the world."
And to critics who say the federal government will never approve an export license to sell Alaska gas to China, Hickel says: Change your attitude.
It's all just a feverish pipeline dream, says Alaskan Abroad.
***
Former Juneau-Douglas football star arraigned on felony drug charges. The Juneau Empire reports that Josh Lehauli, now 20, was in court Wednesday after, police say, he was found with an ounce of cocaine and a breakfast burrito tucked together in a paper bag as he landed at the Juneau airport Tuesday.
He was a high school sports star in 2005 and went on to local boxing fame. But there were run-ins with the law along the way. His old football coach said he saw problems early. "He was not an easy person to coach even back then," William Chalmers said. "He had a very big ego."
***
Politicians and pundits still positioning over polar bear decision. We got an earful Wednesday over Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's decision to list the polar bear as threatened. Reactions are still coming in.
"Dazzling doubletalk" and "bureaucratic sleight-of-hand" is what Idaho's Times-News called it. KTVA says the Palin administration is weighing legal action. The Associated Press quotes Kempthorne this morning clarifying: "I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting. ... The ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate policy." And that is why three environmental groups that brought the suit forcing Kempthorne's decision say they plan further legal action. Stay tuned.
***
It's a bird. It's a plane. ... It's two Russian strategic bombers, flying near Alaska. Pravda proudly reports a "successful 20-hour patrol flight over the Arctic region," according to Col. Alexey Drobyshevsky of the Russian Air Force. When the planes were "near" Alaska, Drobyshevsky said, they were "accompanied by NATO fighters."
What's the purpose? "Patrolling neutral waters of the Arctic" and practicing in-flight refueling. Putin resumed the flights in 2007 because - even though Russia terminated them in 1992 - "not all countries followed our example."
***
Barrow takes a "dream whale" at the start of the season. How does one actually hunt for a whale? The details are in a report from the Arctic Sounder on whaling captain Eugene Brower's successful spring hunt.
Brower described the season's first whale as "a very soft and plump female" - 28 feet, 7 inches long and 24 feet in girth. Along with a crew, Brower had his 11-year-old grandson, Jonathan Nelson, along on the hunt. His wife, Charlotte, worked with other women to yield 20 gallons of whale oil from the jaw, lip and blubber. It's being saved for a village celebration.
***
Fuel costs pinch Alaska Airlines credit rating, force higher ticket prices. It's tough all over. Forbes.com reports that Moody's Investors Service lowered its outlook on Alaska Air Group, the airline parent company, to "negative" from "stable," because it expects the Seattle-based carrier to post a huge loss this year from "materially higher fuel costs and weakening economic conditions."
Passengers on the airline can expect rate increases. The Juneau Empire reports that Wednesday, the airline will increase the charge for booking through sales agents from $10 to $15. The fee for overweight baggage will rise from $25 to $50. The price of taking a pet in the cabin will rise from $75 to $100. And the fee for unaccompanied minors will rise to $75 from $30 for one-way and from $60 for connecting flights.
***
Cruises to Alaska are flat, thanks to weak economy. KRBD in Juneau reports that about 1 million cruise-ship travelers will head our way this season, but that's only with more aggressive cabin discounting this year.
"They lower the price until someone will pay to go on the cruise," said John Binkley of the Alaska Cruise Association.
Drew Green works for Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska doing logistical work at ports.
"I don't see the investment in Alaska we've seen in the past, with the new builds, the new ships coming out. We used to have the biggest, the best, the newest up here."
Apparently not this year.
***
The story behind the story behind Joker the Bailbondsman. In the current Anchorage Press, former ADN reporter and Press editor David Holthouse knits the seedy yet sympathetic yarn behind the arrest and conviction this year of 33-year-old rap artist Sean Sullivan for distributing crack cocaine. Joker and Holthouse go back to 2000, when he profiled the rising rapper for the Anchorage Press.
Eight years later, Holthouse dissects the myth Joker created for himself: "Somewhere along the line from Skateland to Mountain View, Sullivan invented, and then became, Joker," he writes. "And by inhabiting his own hype, he engineered his own downfall." Enjoy the read.
ADVERTISEMENT
Most read
Palin denies accusation over firing of Monegan
Seward Highway collision claims another life
Eagle River trail would be bear road, biologist warns
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.
© Copyright 2008, The Anchorage Daily News, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company 
Contact Us | Newsroom Contacts | Communication Forms | Subscriptions | Advertising | Terms of Use
Daily News Jobs | RSS Feeds | ADN Store | Newspapers in Education | Privacy Agreement
