The Associated Press

(01/04/11 20:35:26)

Savoonga is seeking disaster help from the state.

The request asks Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell to declare a state disaster emergency and provide disaster assistance to the city for emergency response and disaster recovery.

A storm more than a week ago brought high winds and extremely cold temperatures to the community on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea southwest of Nome. The storm also sprayed the village with salt water that coated and froze on electrical transmission lines, causing power outages that lasted for days.

The loss of power also led to frozen and broken water pipes in some homes.

The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is sending a team to Savoonga to assess the situation. The team was to leave today and then report back to the governor. About 700 people live in Savoonga.

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BP closes site over loss in Slope rent dispute

BP closes site over loss in Slope rent dispute
HEALD POINT: Oengas fight oil giant over rent for use of their land.

By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
ebluemink@adn.com

(01/04/11 22:09:08)

BP shut down a small portion of the Prudhoe Bay oil field last week after a judge ruled that federal regulators failed for years to get approval from the Inupiat Eskimo family that owns the land.

The shutdown affects less than 1 percent of production from the nation's largest oil field, but so far it's the most visible consequence of a significant legal victory for the Native family, which has battled lawyers for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and BP in federal court over the oil production from its land.

Federal claims court judge Nancy Firestone ruled this fall that the Oenga family is owed millions in unpaid rent because the BIA improperly allowed BP to tap three offshore oil deposits from the family's allotment on the northern edge of the vast Prudhoe oil field.

The BIA approved BP's expanded use of the allotment without the family's consent, in violation of the family's contract with BP, Firestone said in her 168-page ruling on Nov. 22.

A week ago, the BIA told BP to shut down production from Prudhoe's Raven unit, the only one of the three disputed offshore deposits that BP was still accessing from the allotment. BP shut down Raven, which produced about 25,000 barrels of oil in November, on Friday. BP is still legally tapping the Niakuk field from the allotment.

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Barrow man finds suitcase with $50,000 cash in road

(01/04/11 08:19:58)

Barrow carver Gilford Mongoyak Jr. was taking a leisurely drive about the Arctic coast city in late December when he passed a su
(01/04/11 08:19:58)

Barrow carver Gilford Mongoyak Jr. was taking a leisurely drive about the Arctic coast city in late December when he passed a suitcase sitting in the road. It had no markings on the outside, so he took it home, where he and his wife opened it. They didn't find the owner's identification, but they did find thousands of dollars in cash wrapped in white paper, writes Wasilla-based photographer Bill Hess in his blog.

"My hands kind of started really shaking with that kind of money right there," [Gilford] says. "We say, really, what should we do? So my wife and I decided the best thing to do was to take it to Public Safety (police department)." ...

[An] officer opened up the suitcase and studied the contents

"Then he took a look up at me and said, 'You know what? It's not $10,000. It's $50,000.'"

The officer told Gilford and his wife a local restaurateur had reported the money missing just before leaving Barrow on a flight south. Gilford said friends later told him he should have kept the money.

"But I was raised in a good Christian home with a good Christian mom and dad. They always taught me to do the right thing. I have friends who are saying that I was a good Samaritan. My daughter is proud of me. ... I was rich for like 15 or 20 minutes," he laughed.

The owner of the cash offered him a free dinner at her restaurant as a reward, but he said no thanks.

itcase sitting in the road. It had no markings on the outside, so he took it home, where he and his wife opened it. They didn't find the owner's identification, but they did find thousands of dollars in cash wrapped in white paper, writes Wasilla-based photographer Bill Hess in his blog.

"My hands kind of started really shaking with that kind of money right there," [Gilford] says. "We say, really, what should we do? So my wife and I decided the best thing to do was to take it to Public Safety (police department)." ...

[An] officer opened up the suitcase and studied the contents

"Then he took a look up at me and said, 'You know what? It's not $10,000. It's $50,000.'"

The officer told Gilford and his wife a local restaurateur had reported the money missing just before leaving Barrow on a flight south. Gilford said friends later told him he should have kept the money.

"But I was raised in a good Christian home with a good Christian mom and dad. They always taught me to do the right thing. I have friends who are saying that I was a good Samaritan. My daughter is proud of me. ... I was rich for like 15 or 20 minutes," he laughed.

The owner of the cash offered him a free dinner at her restaurant as a reward, but he said no thanks.

Anti-fireworks e-mails flood Assembly; repeal considered

By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA
rshinohara@adn.com

(01/04/11 07:26:26)

After the first New Year's Eve when private fireworks were legal in Anchorage, there's already a movement on the Anchorage Assembly to repeal the law permitting them, or at least to outlaw the noisiest fireworks. And maybe to limit fireworks to neighborhoods where houses aren't too close together.

Dick Traini, Anchorage Assembly chairman, thinks the city's new law letting people set off their own New Year's Eve fireworks, which he sponsored, was a success.

"This town was just lit up with people using fireworks," Traini said. Thousands of people brightened the skies with colorful displays in neighborhoods from Chugiak to Sand Lake.

But afterward, many residents who didn't enjoy their evening sent complaining e-mails and phoned Assembly members and the mayor's office to tell them so. One person, Airman 1st Class Zach Stewart, 21, was seriously injured in a fireworks accident, Anchorage police said. Police said that could happen any year -- fireworks are always set off, whether they are legal or illegal.

But everyone agrees that this year the number, duration and noise level of neighborhood fireworks surpassed any other year in Anchorage.

"It was like a war zone," Sigrun Robertson of East Anchorage wrote to four Assembly members. "It was the worst New Year's I have ever spent in Anchorage." She spent the night holding her miserable, freaked-out golden retriever, Hunter, she said in an interview.

Jon Nauman, owner of the Horse Drawn Carriage Co. that provides rides to people, said his horses downtown were so tensed up by sidewalk fireworks that the drivers couldn't take a break all night -- they had to stay in their seats and in control. The drivers shut down early.

Assembly members also heard from people who loved the night -- though they were in the minority of those who sent e-mails on the topic.

"There are very few things the city does all together, spontaneously," said Marc Bond, who lives off Rabbit Creek Road and Goldenview Drive, and wrote a letter to the editor complimenting the Assembly. "There were fireworks everywhere. Everybody was having fun."

Caper, his Swiss mountain dog -- an Entlebucher -- didn't like the noise, but recovered, said Bond.

A BLAST OF COMPLAINTS

The law as approved by the Assembly in December permits fireworks on private property only from 9:30 p.m. New Year's Eve to 1 a.m. New Year's Day. The law expires after New Year's Eve 2011.

Assemblywoman Harriet Drummond said she hopes to have a proposal to repeal the law right now ready to introduce at the Jan. 11 Assembly meeting. She voted against the law last month.

"I got over 30 e-mails New Year's Eve and the next morning, and they continue ... It's overwhelmingly against the fireworks," said Drummond. "I'm getting reports of people whose dogs were terrified for five hours."

Assemblyman Patrick Flynn said he got 70 to 100 e-mails, and they continue to arrive. They are overwhelmingly against legalizing fireworks, he said.

"Most were just, 'What are you guys, a bunch of lunatics?' " he said.

Judging by comments from other Assembly members, there may not be enough votes on the 11-member Assembly to repeal the law outright. It passed 7-4. Besides Drummond, Flynn, Debbie Ossiander and Chris Birch voted against enacting the law.

CHANGES CONSIDERED

But some Assembly members who voted to allow the fireworks said they'd like to modify the law to make it less objectionable to its opponents.

"My guess is if there are not some changes made, it might not survive" after New Year's Eve 2011, said Assemblyman Ernie Hall, who lives in Sand Lake. "There were some that sounded kind of like a howitzer going off. Others were kind of pops. We might look at limiting the size of fireworks."

Assembly member Jennifer Johnston, who lives on Upper O'Malley Road, got a good view of the Anchorage Bowl.

"I could see it was a much bigger group of fireworks than in the past," she said. "It's kind of like we released a monster."

She said she'd like to discuss keeping the prettier fireworks but not the ones that go "kaboom." And maybe the fireworks shouldn't be allowed in denser neighborhoods, she said. "There was definitely an unleashing of pent-up pyromania."

Robert Hall, owner of Gorilla Fireworks in Houston, said the city has options if it wants to limit the type of fireworks allowed in neighborhoods. But, he said, the aerials that shoot flower-like stars across the sky include an explosion. A burst causes the noise and throws the stars out. "There's no simple solution."

Hall said he'd help figure out some alternatives, if asked.

SHOULD PETS RULE?

Mayor Dan Sullivan said in his neighborhood, off Wisconsin Street and Northern Lights Boulevard, the fireworks experiment seemed to go well. "One thing I did notice: At one o'clock it all came to a stop in my area."

Sullivan said he doesn't have strong feelings about the law; if the Assembly decided to end the experiment, "I doubt I would weigh in one way or the other."

Traini said there clearly needs to be better information about the law. This year, many people started early after a TV station reported fireworks were OK after 6 p.m., he said.

But he said most of the complaints were about stress on pets.

"Do we control what we do just for the pets?" he asked. "I think the vast majority of people enjoyed the fireworks."

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Recent warm weather raises Alaska avalanche danger

Anchorage Daily News / adn.com

(01/03/11 18:58:47)

Avalanche specialists are cautioning the public about increased avalanche danger in Southcentral Alaska.

The areas of particular concern are Turnagain Pass, Valdez and Cordova, they said.

Juneau also has a heightened risk of avalanches.

The unseasonably warm weather of the past few days has put immense stress on an unstable snow layer one to three feet below the surface, said Jon Gellings, an avalanche forecaster with Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.

It won't take much for a large avalanche to occur, he said.

The Department of Public Safety, along with Avalanche Specialists, wants to encourage outdoor enthusiasts to take a break from recreating in the backcountry.

Avalanche forecasters are discouraging outdoor enthusiasts from recreating in the backcountry.

Gellings said conditions won't improve until at least 24 hours after the current storm cycle ends, and even after that danger pockets will remain.

Avalanche danger can change daily, the information center said. These websites provide information on the avalanche forecast around the state:

• http://www.cnfaic.org.

• http://www.avalanche-center.org/Bulletins.

• http://www.avalanche.org.

• http://www.alaskasnow.org.

• http://www.juneau.org/avalanche.

The Public Safety Department said those venturing into the backcountry for snowmachining, skiing or snowshoeing should prepare a trip plan with detailed information regarding where they will be traveling and when they will return, and give that plan to someone who will report them missing if they do not check in or return on time.

A Wilderness trip plan form can be found online at: http://www.dps.state.ak.us/pio/docs/WildernessTripPlan.pdf.

Recommended safety gear include cell phone and other communication equipment, avalanche transceivers, probes and shovels.

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Subsistence fishermen oppose new Fish and Game head

PETERSBURG -- Gov. Sean Parnell's appointment to head Alaska's Fish and Game Department is drawing the ire of a Native group that accuses Cora Campbell of being unqualified and biased toward commercial fishing.

KFSK-FM reports that Alaska Native Brotherhood's Subsistence Committee chair Bob Loescher said the 31-year-old Campbell is too young and lacks relationships with Alaska's Native population to be an effective commissioner.

Campbell, who is not a research biologist, or trained in fisheries or wildlife management, said she can work with subsistence fishermen and hopes to meet with the Alaska Native Brotherhood to talk about their concerns.

Parnell decided last week to appoint Campbell to head Fish and Game. She had been acting commissioner since Dec. 1, when Denby Lloyd retired. Her appointment will have to be approved by the Legislature.

Campbell, who grew up in the fishing community of Petersburg and worked as a young woman on her father's fishing boat, was one of two applicants submitted for consideration by the Joint Board of Fisheries and Game and forwarded to Parnell for consideration. The other was Ron Somerville, a former Board of Game chairman.

Unlike Lloyd, whose first job with ADF&G was in 1974 doing test fisheries, Campbell did not rise from within an agency. She has, however, worked for two governors. Her resume includes work as fisheries adviser for former Gov. Sarah Palin, in commercial fishing, and as an executive director of a regional fishing association.

Parnell has said he picked Campbell, and is making his other appointments, to bring new energy to his administration.

Myron Naneng, president of the Alaska Village Council Presidents, also has expressed concerns about Campbell and worries that subsistence users in Western Alaska will be overlooked under her watch.

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Teen driving and texting is nothing to ‘lol’ about

Imagine a busy afternoon in the city. You’ve just gotten out of school and you’re on your way home.

Suddenly, that familiar tune of “Low Rider” emits from your pocket, signaling a text message. Thinking it might be your mother, you take your hands off the steering wheel and whip out the cell phone to check. Unbeknownst to you, the light has changed and you’re in the line of a semi truck about to cause an accident and a three-hour traffic jam.

This is only a possible scenario that illustrates a problem plaguing American drivers — especially teens — since the invention of texting and cell phones. Texting while driving leaves many teens vulnerable to hazards they should watch for, but they are too busy answering messages to notice.

“I think it’s a dumb and dangerous thing to do,” says Attera Heckathorn, a senior at Houston High School. “The people who (text and drive) don’t seem to think that they’re putting people at serious risk of getting into an accident.”

According to the Keep the Drive website, texting is the largest distraction for teens behind the wheel. In its 2008 fatality report, more than 49 percent of teens report texting as being a distraction. This rate is up from 31 percent in 2005. Also, 51 percent of teenage girls are likely to text while driving, compared to 38 percent of teenage boys.

“You shouldn’t text while driving because it endangers you and the people around you, not only other drivers, but pedestrians as well,” said Chantelle Shones, a senior attending Mat-Su Career and Technical High School. “It’s one of your jobs as a driver to look out for them.”

Chantelle has experienced this before. While on walks, she sometimes sees drivers veer a little too close for comfort to the side of the road or crosswalk near pedestrians.

According to the DWI Watch website, texting while a car is in motion increases the driver’s risk of crashing eight times more than that of a non-impaired driver. Truckers who text and drive are 23 times more likely to wreck than their co-workers who don’t. More shockingly, studies from the Missouri Injury Law Blog dealing with texting and driving show that texting at the wheel is equivalent to drinking four cans of beer, which equals a .08 percent blood alcohol level for an intoxicated driver. This means that a texting driver is perhaps more dangerous than a drunk driver.

Sgt. Randy Mcpherron of the Wasilla Traffic Unit says Alaska’s House Bill 8 covers any device with a screen, though cell phones and navigation devices are OK. According to Mcpherron, if an accident occurs because of texting, it’s considered a class C felony and if someone is hurt because of texting, it’s a class B felony. If a person is killed in a texting accident, it’s labeled a class A felony. Furthermore, people in the Valley have been pulled over and cited for texting because police are required to do so if they see someone texting.

According to the Keep the Drive website, motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of death in American teenagers, outnumbering fatality rates caused by drug and alcohol usage, violence and suicide each year. An estimated 1.6 million American teens text while on the road, and in 2008, more than 4,000 teens died in car wrecks, which is roughly 11 deaths per day. Because of this, it’s not surprising that when surveyed, 44 percent of teens said they felt more secure driving alone than driving with friends who text when driving.

Kendra Johnson, a senior at Houston High School, said texting while driving is too dangerous to risk, but she admits that drivers do it all the time. Johnson has been a front-seat witness a few times to text-intoxicated drivers.

“I know people who will sometimes answer a text message while behind the wheel, and it freaks me out because I feel as if they’re more likely to wreck,” she said.

According to a survey by Harris Interactive in 2007, 89 percent of adults find that teenage text messaging is “distracting, dangerous and should be outlawed,” but 66 percent of the poll’s contributors do so themselves, contradicting the message to teens that texting while driving isn’t a wise choice.

States have begun cracking down on cell phone usage and texting because they are the most common distractions for driving teens. Currently, 18 states and the District of Columbia have banned texting and driving; only beginning drivers are prohibited from texting in nine states. The U.S. Department of Transportation is pushing legislation to further restrict texting and driving in all 50 states. According to the Driving Laws website, on Sept. 1, 2008, House Bill 8 in Alaska banned drivers from using devices with a visual display. Doing so can result in a misdemeanor.

Despite celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey speaking out against texting while driving, these messages have failed to reach teenagers. However, the Gwent Valley Police Department in Wales worked with film director Peter Watkins-Hughes to create “COW,” a 2009 graphic Welsh short film that shows audiences the devastating consequences of texting and driving. This educational film shows how Cassie “Cow” Cowan and her friends’ irresponsible choice to text and drive causes them to get into a car wreck that kills four people in the process. “COW” earned honors in the Advertising Age’s weekly Creativity Top 5 videos and became an overnight worldwide Internet hit after being shown on the “Today Show.”

After its Internet PSA, the film recorded more than 1 million hits on YouTube by Aug. 25, 2009. With further efforts such as these, teens may finally realize the hazards of texting while driving.

Margaret Koeneman is a senior at Houston High School.

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