Anchorage Daily News

Monday

Downtown beautification effort ruined thanks to premature wear

A design feature meant to beautify a downtown Anchorage intersection is on its way to becoming a knobby and rocky ride. After only a few months of use, the decorative pavers, or bricks, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and E Street are showing signs of premature wear and tear. The expensive ornament was part of a large-scale plan to expand the "plaza/festival setting" of the area around Town Square, making a broader section of downtown into a place where people enjoy walking, where tourists dawdle and where businesses thrive, according city design paperwork.

Tuesday

FBI agent makes accusations of misconduct in Stevens trial

An Alaska FBI agent has accused fellow agents and at least one prosecutor of misconduct and unethical behavior in the public corruption investigation in Alaska and the trial of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. The agent's complaint to internal investigators in the Justice Department was made public Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., by the judge in Stevens's case.

Three suspects are indicted on 217 felony counts

Three people accused of stealing checks, credit cards and IDs, sometimes out of mailboxes, and then bilking Anchorage and Mat-Su residents and business of tens of thousands of dollars during a four-month crime spree were indicted Monday on 217 felony counts of fraud, theft and forgery. The suspects, whom police spent more than two months rounding up, used the stolen items to buy goods and services from businesses across Southcentral Alaska, running up a total fraudulent take of more than $50,000, according to the indictment.

Wednesday

Pranksters snub City Hall, build giant snowman Snowzilla

Snowzilla the giant snowman rose from the dead Tuesday morning after some holiday pranksters thumbed their noses at city orders and rebuilt him overnight. When news of the controversial and world-famous Anchorage snowman's demise exploded on the Internet this week, hundreds of Alaska and Lower 48 readers had two words for the city of Anchorage and anyone else who criticized the crowd-pleasing giant: "Bah humbug." And before dawn Tuesday, in downtown Anchorage, someone erected a small, misshapen snowman at the entrance to Anchorage City Hall: A crude mini Snowzilla brandishing a protest sign that read "Snowmen of the world unite!"

Fur Rendezvous Open may boast its richest purse in February

In a year of global economic downturns and companies feeling a financial pinch, some Anchorage businessmen have pulled out their wallets and helped revive Alaska's most historic sport. The Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship will offer the richest purse in the sport come February -- and one of its biggest ever. A minimum of $65,000 has been set, said Susan Duck, executive director of the city's annual winter festival. That's up $15,000 from last season's purse -- and it could grow to $75,000 by February when mushers burst from the corner of Fifth Avenue and D Street for Fur Rondy's marquee event.

Thursday

Small dip in prison population baffles many Alaska officials

What appears to be an unprecedented decrease in the number of prisoners under the control of the state Department of Corrections this year has prison officials and legal experts baffled. Whether the dip, which is statistically small, represents a lasting trend remains to be seen. The total number of people under department supervision, including Alaskans being held here and in Outside prisons, halfway houses and under electronic monitoring, declined from 5,397 in December 2007 to 5,110 this week, according to department numbers.

Lung transplant reverses Medicaid policy in Alaska

PALMER -- Troy Chapman came home with a new set of lungs just in time for Christmas. In September, the 24-year-old Palmer native with cystic fibrosis received a double-lung transplant at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. The case led to a reversal of state Medicaid policy on adult organ transplants.

Friday

City savings account loses more than a quarter of value

A savings account that contributes millions of dollars to finance city services each year lost more than a quarter of its value in the past 12 months and likely will take years to recover. The savings account is a trust fund set up about a decade ago with proceeds from the sale of the old city-owned Anchorage Telephone Utility. It has grown and shrunk over the years in rhythm with the general economy, from almost $130 million in 1999 to as little as $112 million in 2002. The fund had swollen to $141 million by the end of 2007, and was still $131 million six months ago. But then the economy started its nosedive. The fund is projected to end this year at $96.9 million after paying a $6.6 million "dividend" to the city general fund.

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