The owner of Alaska DigiTel has paid nearly $1.6 million to settle allegations that the company signed up subscribers who did not qualify for a low-income federal subsidy of telecommunications service.
The money was paid by parent company General Communication Inc. for false claims submitted by Alaska DigiTel from January 2004 through August 2008, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
“We simply won’t tolerate practices that misuse taxpayer dollars and undermine the integrity of important government programs aimed at helping the needy,” said Tony West, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
By submitting false claims to the Low Income Support Program, he said, Alaska DigiTel tried to take advantage of the program designed to help individuals who otherwise could not afford phone service.
Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Justice Department Civil Division, said no other telecoms have been accused of signing up unqualified people for the program.
David Morris, spokesman for Anchorage-based GCI, said Tuesday the company acquired an 80 percent, non-management stake of Alaska DigiTel in 2006. Two years later, GCI acquired the remainder and assumed day-to-day operations and management.
“GCI inherited this with the acquisition of Alaska DigiTel in August of 2008,” Morris said. “When we became aware of the allegations from the Department of Justice, we cooperated with the investigation to preserve the process.”
Morris acknowledged the settlement was substantial.
“We consider $1.6 million a lot of money, but you have to look at it from the business side, that protracted investigations with attorneys — it gets to be a very expensive and distracting activity,” he said. “When we did the benefit cost, this seemed to be the best way to conclude the matter so that we can continue.”
GCI put new procedures in place, instituted safeguards and implemented ongoing training to make sure no future problems occur, Morris said.
It was unclear just how much the alleged false claims totaled.
However, the government in negotiating a settlement is entitled to seek triple damages, Miller said. It does not matter whether the false claim was committed intentionally or by negligence.
“The fact remains that there has been fraud committed against the United States,” he said.
A whistleblower who reported that Alaska DigiTel was signing up unqualified subscribers will receive $260,000 from the settlement. Miller said the whistleblower was not an employee of Alaska Digii-Tel.
The Low Income Support Program paid Alaska DigiTel for free or discounted phone or wireless services for the needy.
Support for low-income consumers is one of four programs within the Universal Service Fund created by the Federal Communications Commission to ensure phone coverage throughout the country.
Other programs subsidize communications to rural users, health facilities and schools and libraries. Telecommunication companies pay into the fund from earnings from interstate business.
GCI provides voice, video and data communication services to residential, commercial and government customers statewide. It claims a 45 percent share of the state’s long-distance market.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Maryland to ban felt-soled waders, Alaska also ROCK SNOT: Algae can hitch a ride on the fibers, infect trout streams.
MONKTON, Md. -- As an algae with a gross nickname invades pristine trout streams across the U.S., Maryland is about to become the first state to ban a type of footgear the organism uses to hitchhike from stream to stream: felt-soled fishing boots.
The state Department of Natural Resources plans to prohibit wading with felt soles starting March 21 to curb the spread of invasive organisms that can get trapped in the damp fibers and carried from one body of water to another.
Similar bans will take effect April 1 in Vermont and next year in Alaska, aimed especially at didymo, an algae that coats riverbeds with thick mats of yellow-brown vegetation commonly called "rock snot."
Maryland fishery regulators say didymo, short for Didymosphenia geminata, can smother aquatic insect larvae such as mayflies, stoneflies and caddis flies that are favored food for trout and other fish.
"We've got to keep it from spreading," said Jonathan McKnight, associate director of the state Wildlife and Heritage Service in Maryland, where didymo was found in 2008 in the Gunpowder Falls north of Baltimore. A western Maryland stream, the Savage River, also has tested positive for the organism but hasn't had a rock snot bloom.
Didymo, pronounced DID-ee-moh, isn't a stream-killer like acid mine drainage. Fish have adapted in the northern rivers where it first appeared, but biologists can't say for sure how it will affect Maryland waterways.
"I think the cautionary approach to that would be to assume it's going to have some adverse impacts and respond accordingly," said Ron Klauda, a Maryland freshwater fisheries biologist.
Maryland officials are taking public comments through Feb. 28 on their proposed ban. They say 2011 will be an "education year," with violators getting warnings and information cards instead of tickets. Fines and penalties haven't been determined and won't be effective until 2012.
A U.S. Agriculture Department map shows didymo in at least 18 states as of 2008. New Zealand has banned felt soles to protect its trout fishery.
Some anglers and policymakers, however, aren't sold on the felt-sole ban. Many anglers prefer felt to rubber -- even newer, supposedly stickier rubber compounds -- because they believe felt gives better traction on slippery, rock-strewn riverbeds where losing one's footing can be disastrous.
The state Department of Natural Resources plans to prohibit wading with felt soles starting March 21 to curb the spread of invasive organisms that can get trapped in the damp fibers and carried from one body of water to another.
Similar bans will take effect April 1 in Vermont and next year in Alaska, aimed especially at didymo, an algae that coats riverbeds with thick mats of yellow-brown vegetation commonly called "rock snot."
Maryland fishery regulators say didymo, short for Didymosphenia geminata, can smother aquatic insect larvae such as mayflies, stoneflies and caddis flies that are favored food for trout and other fish.
"We've got to keep it from spreading," said Jonathan McKnight, associate director of the state Wildlife and Heritage Service in Maryland, where didymo was found in 2008 in the Gunpowder Falls north of Baltimore. A western Maryland stream, the Savage River, also has tested positive for the organism but hasn't had a rock snot bloom.
Didymo, pronounced DID-ee-moh, isn't a stream-killer like acid mine drainage. Fish have adapted in the northern rivers where it first appeared, but biologists can't say for sure how it will affect Maryland waterways.
"I think the cautionary approach to that would be to assume it's going to have some adverse impacts and respond accordingly," said Ron Klauda, a Maryland freshwater fisheries biologist.
Maryland officials are taking public comments through Feb. 28 on their proposed ban. They say 2011 will be an "education year," with violators getting warnings and information cards instead of tickets. Fines and penalties haven't been determined and won't be effective until 2012.
A U.S. Agriculture Department map shows didymo in at least 18 states as of 2008. New Zealand has banned felt soles to protect its trout fishery.
Some anglers and policymakers, however, aren't sold on the felt-sole ban. Many anglers prefer felt to rubber -- even newer, supposedly stickier rubber compounds -- because they believe felt gives better traction on slippery, rock-strewn riverbeds where losing one's footing can be disastrous.
'Whales' producer reflects on filming in Alaska
"Everybody Loves Whales" producer Stuart Besser found a shortage of construction workers available to build sets in Anchorage. He told other filmmakers curious about shooting in the state that they'd have to haul their own equipment from Los Angeles.
But knowing what he knows now, the executive producer of the first modern, major movie to film entirely in Alaska says he would still do it all over again.
"It worked," Besser said in a Thursday phone interview from Los Angeles.
The project stayed within its budget -- Besser estimates the movie will cost in the mid-$30 million range -- and ought to feel more authentic for filming here, he said. "Especially when you look at faces on film."
Expected to premiere next year, the movie is a fictionalized retelling of the real-life attempt to rescue three California gray whales trapped bythe sea ice near Barrow.
Working Title Films shot the Universal Pictures project over three months beginning in September in Anchorage.
Landing "Whales" was a key step in boosting Alaska's fledgling movie industry and the production has served as a kind of proving ground for future films.
Meantime, two bills that would extend the film subsidy created in 2008 are under consideration in the state Legislature while the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. prepares a study on "Whales'" impact on the local economy.
Besser is credited as producer on 10 movies in the past 10 years, including "The Break-Up," "3:10 to Yuma" and "The Losers." Here's what he, had to say about movie-making in Anchorage:
What's happening with the movie production right now?
"Director Ken Kwapis ("The Office," "He's Just Not That Into You") and the editors are editing the movie together based on what we filmed up in Anchorage and working with ... the visual effects house, getting some of the visual effects done as well.
What kind of visual effects?
Since it was supposed to be Barrow, where there are no mountains and the terrain goes on forever, you need to sort of do some visual effects so that that's the backdrop to some of the scenes that we filmed on the ice field.
Surrounding the Ship Creek ice field set with digital tundra?
Exactly.
What was the final budget for the movie?
The film was in the $30 million range. ... In the mid-30 range.
Was all of that spending in Alaska?
We were able to utilize about 90 percent of our spend in Anchorage during the production period.
Is the state tax incentive working as expected?
It is. One of the major draws of filming in Anchorage not only has to do with the original story taking place in Alaska and the look of, you know the cast, the day-players we were able to get because of being Native, but the overwhelming choice has to do with the incentive and tax investment that the state is willing to make in the industry.
If there was no tax incentive, we wouldn't have been in Anchorage.
Who are some of the companies that contacted you about buying credits?
I don't know if they want, at this moment, to be publicized.
Any doubt that there will be buyers for the tax credits? Especially since you are one of the first to do it here on any kind of scale?
I doubt that that will be a problem ... the response has been positive.
What's your message for the Legislature about whether the incentive is worth extending or keeping on the books?
It is a competitive industry of where people go to make films. One of the deciding factors is the look and surroundings of locations that are needed for the film. But as a film you make believe. So you could sort of make anything work for anyplace. Thus the advantage for Alaska was the incentive.
I think if there was no incentive I don't believe the feature industry could build there. I imagine you'd still have documentaries and travel type of programming.
What were some of the challenges of being the first to make a movie of your size up here?
The infrastructure doesn't, or didn't exist.
That becomes something difficult to maneuver on a physical production manner. At the same time ... There's a labor force that exists there (in Alaska.) It's not that plentiful at this time, but I think that everybody who worked on the film in a technical capacity walked away with a greater knowledge and a feeling of gained experience that will be valuable for the next film.
Was there a shortage of people to work on the film?
Part of it is, there isn't a depth of the film industry there at this point. When we finished, there was a greater depth than when we started. But going in there wasn't, obviously the depth of technicians that one would have in Los Angeles or New York or even Vancouver.
It's just, the business hadn't been enough to generate enough people to make that their livelihood. But I think after it, I think there was some people that gained not only experience and knowledge, but the desire.
These are people who would do what kind of jobs?
Grips. Electricians. People in the wardrobe department. People in makeup and hair. Construction people. Painters.
Do we need a soundstage in Anchorage?
Yes. There isn't one - we made do with a warehouse that we found that wasn't occupied and it was a time of year that you know, the flight patterns weren't that much of an issue as we moved later into our schedule.
The first half of the schedule, the flight patterns did tend to be a problem.
So a sound stage is a great investment because every film will need one.
Knowing what you do now, would you do it over again? Would you still have filmed here?
We would have still filmed up there I think. Knowing everything I could have made a couple more adjustments as I moved forward knowing the information I have now. But it worked.
Financially we were able to stay within our parameters and I think, and I believe all of us feel that the film being shot where the film happened added to the authenticness of it. Especially when you look at faces on film.
You're referring to the Alaskans who were cast?
Yeah.
What kind of adjustments would you have made knowing what you know now?
Earlier on, I think that we felt that there might be more construction labor up there, rather than needing to travel some of the people from other parts of the Lower 48. ... The next time I might have made an allocation for a greater number of people coming up. However, as I say that, after our film, I believe that there's a bigger labor force than there was before.
Maybe the second time around for another company, they could make the same assumption that there would be a certain amount of people available and this time there will be.
How many people did you have to bring up for construction jobs?
Well over 20. ... We built Barrow downtown. There were sets that we built in the warehouse. There's scenic painters, that's kind of a specialized industry. And part of the labor not being available had a lot to do with the seasonal work in Alaska, more than the talent of people.
We got up there in July and that's your building time, so a lot of people were doing construction work that that period of time in Alaska is for construction. So to walk away for an eight or 10 week job, when you've had this job for a couple years, doesn't make sense to an individual.
How was the casting process here - were you able to find what you needed?
We had a wonderful casting director with Deborah Schildt and she was able to find probably more cast than we thought going in. Not only of the Native Inuits but of people who played roles of reporters coming from Los Angeles and teachers from Los Angeles.
Some Alaska Natives were cast in speaking roles. Everyone is sensitive to how their culture is portrayed. How do you think the film is going to be received by Alaska Natives when it premieres?
I think very well. I think that Ken Kwapis did a fantastic job of staying true and trying to portray, not only realistically the period, the people and their customs. But had scenes or attempted to include parts of their culture ...
I think he portrayed it fairly and honestly and with respect, and I think that's how it will be perceived.
Is it a realistic goal for Anchorage to become the "new" Vancouver of filmmaking?
There are parts of Vancouver that you can shoot for a suburb in Los Angeles. There's parts of downtown Vancouver that you can work for San Francisco. Vancouver has different looks through the city and the suburbs around it. So to make the analogy with Vancouver, I'm not sure that that is the correct analogy.
Can Anchorage or Alaska be a booming production center? That's possible, but I don't think you can compare it to Vancouver.
Vancouver has several, several stages. All the equipment already exists up there. They have crews that are probably four, five deep. So if there are five projects at once, there's enough labor force, local labor force for it.
You had an Alaskan story. Would anyone make a movie here that wasn't based in Alaska?
There are parts of Anchorage that I remember, I couldn't tell you exactly where, that could be small town -- bigger than a one-gas station stop Americana -- but a small-town kind of a look. You know, a small city that you could pull off in Anchorage.
There were some of the suburb areas that could work for a small town in North Carolina or somewhere. I don't think you would find the scope of the city there and the high rises aren't there. So, you know, that's what dictates it.
We found a couple of suburbs, homes, that we filmed in, for a suburb in Los Angeles. So you can go out there and find things. The scope of it would be more limited.
... The incentive is generous enough that it's worth seeing if you could pull it off.
Are you hearing from other producers, asking you if it's worth it?
Yeah, there are a couple companies that I've spoken to their representatives. They were contemplating possibly doing a movie there and seeing how it went. And whether it would be worthwhile for them to venture up.
What did they want to know?
Basically how it was filming there. Was the city responsive? What's the crew base? Is there any equipment?
What did you tell them?
I told them that the equipment has to come up from Los Angeles and depending on the time of year, what your crew base would be. ... A man or woman making a living for a construction company for five years is not going to leave it for 10 weeks of work, so it depends on what time of year you're up there.
We found a warehouse and I'm sure others could find a warehouse depending on what they needed to do.
So it really depended on when you run the numbers and you see what the incentive is, if you're going to be able to put more on screen, it's worth going up there.
Do you know if any other mid-size or bigger productions are on their way here?
I don't know if (any are) on the way. I know there are some that are contemplating ... They need to, as we all in this business do, we wait for confirmation the film's going to be made. And I think they're waiting on that. And if some of the films are going to be made, I think they'd come up and look around and see if Anchorage offered the elements that they would need to make that project.
Can you tell me anything about the animatronic whales?
We still will maintain, for the public, that those were whales. The illusion of filmmaking I think is important for the audience.
Any possibility of an Alaska premiere for the movie?
There will be some screenings in Alaska. We worked out some arrangements with the Barrow school district to have a screening for them. But that's way, way down the road.
(Note: The Alaska screenings would be after the movie's premiere, Besser said.)
Should we expect to see the movie premiere in 2011?
You know there's a possibility but I think at this point, people are striving toward a 2012 release date.
But knowing what he knows now, the executive producer of the first modern, major movie to film entirely in Alaska says he would still do it all over again.
"It worked," Besser said in a Thursday phone interview from Los Angeles.
The project stayed within its budget -- Besser estimates the movie will cost in the mid-$30 million range -- and ought to feel more authentic for filming here, he said. "Especially when you look at faces on film."
Expected to premiere next year, the movie is a fictionalized retelling of the real-life attempt to rescue three California gray whales trapped bythe sea ice near Barrow.
Working Title Films shot the Universal Pictures project over three months beginning in September in Anchorage.
Landing "Whales" was a key step in boosting Alaska's fledgling movie industry and the production has served as a kind of proving ground for future films.
Meantime, two bills that would extend the film subsidy created in 2008 are under consideration in the state Legislature while the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. prepares a study on "Whales'" impact on the local economy.
Besser is credited as producer on 10 movies in the past 10 years, including "The Break-Up," "3:10 to Yuma" and "The Losers." Here's what he, had to say about movie-making in Anchorage:
What's happening with the movie production right now?
"Director Ken Kwapis ("The Office," "He's Just Not That Into You") and the editors are editing the movie together based on what we filmed up in Anchorage and working with ... the visual effects house, getting some of the visual effects done as well.
What kind of visual effects?
Since it was supposed to be Barrow, where there are no mountains and the terrain goes on forever, you need to sort of do some visual effects so that that's the backdrop to some of the scenes that we filmed on the ice field.
Surrounding the Ship Creek ice field set with digital tundra?
Exactly.
What was the final budget for the movie?
The film was in the $30 million range. ... In the mid-30 range.
Was all of that spending in Alaska?
We were able to utilize about 90 percent of our spend in Anchorage during the production period.
Is the state tax incentive working as expected?
It is. One of the major draws of filming in Anchorage not only has to do with the original story taking place in Alaska and the look of, you know the cast, the day-players we were able to get because of being Native, but the overwhelming choice has to do with the incentive and tax investment that the state is willing to make in the industry.
If there was no tax incentive, we wouldn't have been in Anchorage.
Who are some of the companies that contacted you about buying credits?
I don't know if they want, at this moment, to be publicized.
Any doubt that there will be buyers for the tax credits? Especially since you are one of the first to do it here on any kind of scale?
I doubt that that will be a problem ... the response has been positive.
What's your message for the Legislature about whether the incentive is worth extending or keeping on the books?
It is a competitive industry of where people go to make films. One of the deciding factors is the look and surroundings of locations that are needed for the film. But as a film you make believe. So you could sort of make anything work for anyplace. Thus the advantage for Alaska was the incentive.
I think if there was no incentive I don't believe the feature industry could build there. I imagine you'd still have documentaries and travel type of programming.
What were some of the challenges of being the first to make a movie of your size up here?
The infrastructure doesn't, or didn't exist.
That becomes something difficult to maneuver on a physical production manner. At the same time ... There's a labor force that exists there (in Alaska.) It's not that plentiful at this time, but I think that everybody who worked on the film in a technical capacity walked away with a greater knowledge and a feeling of gained experience that will be valuable for the next film.
Was there a shortage of people to work on the film?
Part of it is, there isn't a depth of the film industry there at this point. When we finished, there was a greater depth than when we started. But going in there wasn't, obviously the depth of technicians that one would have in Los Angeles or New York or even Vancouver.
It's just, the business hadn't been enough to generate enough people to make that their livelihood. But I think after it, I think there was some people that gained not only experience and knowledge, but the desire.
These are people who would do what kind of jobs?
Grips. Electricians. People in the wardrobe department. People in makeup and hair. Construction people. Painters.
Do we need a soundstage in Anchorage?
Yes. There isn't one - we made do with a warehouse that we found that wasn't occupied and it was a time of year that you know, the flight patterns weren't that much of an issue as we moved later into our schedule.
The first half of the schedule, the flight patterns did tend to be a problem.
So a sound stage is a great investment because every film will need one.
Knowing what you do now, would you do it over again? Would you still have filmed here?
We would have still filmed up there I think. Knowing everything I could have made a couple more adjustments as I moved forward knowing the information I have now. But it worked.
Financially we were able to stay within our parameters and I think, and I believe all of us feel that the film being shot where the film happened added to the authenticness of it. Especially when you look at faces on film.
You're referring to the Alaskans who were cast?
Yeah.
What kind of adjustments would you have made knowing what you know now?
Earlier on, I think that we felt that there might be more construction labor up there, rather than needing to travel some of the people from other parts of the Lower 48. ... The next time I might have made an allocation for a greater number of people coming up. However, as I say that, after our film, I believe that there's a bigger labor force than there was before.
Maybe the second time around for another company, they could make the same assumption that there would be a certain amount of people available and this time there will be.
How many people did you have to bring up for construction jobs?
Well over 20. ... We built Barrow downtown. There were sets that we built in the warehouse. There's scenic painters, that's kind of a specialized industry. And part of the labor not being available had a lot to do with the seasonal work in Alaska, more than the talent of people.
We got up there in July and that's your building time, so a lot of people were doing construction work that that period of time in Alaska is for construction. So to walk away for an eight or 10 week job, when you've had this job for a couple years, doesn't make sense to an individual.
How was the casting process here - were you able to find what you needed?
We had a wonderful casting director with Deborah Schildt and she was able to find probably more cast than we thought going in. Not only of the Native Inuits but of people who played roles of reporters coming from Los Angeles and teachers from Los Angeles.
Some Alaska Natives were cast in speaking roles. Everyone is sensitive to how their culture is portrayed. How do you think the film is going to be received by Alaska Natives when it premieres?
I think very well. I think that Ken Kwapis did a fantastic job of staying true and trying to portray, not only realistically the period, the people and their customs. But had scenes or attempted to include parts of their culture ...
I think he portrayed it fairly and honestly and with respect, and I think that's how it will be perceived.
Is it a realistic goal for Anchorage to become the "new" Vancouver of filmmaking?
There are parts of Vancouver that you can shoot for a suburb in Los Angeles. There's parts of downtown Vancouver that you can work for San Francisco. Vancouver has different looks through the city and the suburbs around it. So to make the analogy with Vancouver, I'm not sure that that is the correct analogy.
Can Anchorage or Alaska be a booming production center? That's possible, but I don't think you can compare it to Vancouver.
Vancouver has several, several stages. All the equipment already exists up there. They have crews that are probably four, five deep. So if there are five projects at once, there's enough labor force, local labor force for it.
You had an Alaskan story. Would anyone make a movie here that wasn't based in Alaska?
There are parts of Anchorage that I remember, I couldn't tell you exactly where, that could be small town -- bigger than a one-gas station stop Americana -- but a small-town kind of a look. You know, a small city that you could pull off in Anchorage.
There were some of the suburb areas that could work for a small town in North Carolina or somewhere. I don't think you would find the scope of the city there and the high rises aren't there. So, you know, that's what dictates it.
We found a couple of suburbs, homes, that we filmed in, for a suburb in Los Angeles. So you can go out there and find things. The scope of it would be more limited.
... The incentive is generous enough that it's worth seeing if you could pull it off.
Are you hearing from other producers, asking you if it's worth it?
Yeah, there are a couple companies that I've spoken to their representatives. They were contemplating possibly doing a movie there and seeing how it went. And whether it would be worthwhile for them to venture up.
What did they want to know?
Basically how it was filming there. Was the city responsive? What's the crew base? Is there any equipment?
What did you tell them?
I told them that the equipment has to come up from Los Angeles and depending on the time of year, what your crew base would be. ... A man or woman making a living for a construction company for five years is not going to leave it for 10 weeks of work, so it depends on what time of year you're up there.
We found a warehouse and I'm sure others could find a warehouse depending on what they needed to do.
So it really depended on when you run the numbers and you see what the incentive is, if you're going to be able to put more on screen, it's worth going up there.
Do you know if any other mid-size or bigger productions are on their way here?
I don't know if (any are) on the way. I know there are some that are contemplating ... They need to, as we all in this business do, we wait for confirmation the film's going to be made. And I think they're waiting on that. And if some of the films are going to be made, I think they'd come up and look around and see if Anchorage offered the elements that they would need to make that project.
Can you tell me anything about the animatronic whales?
We still will maintain, for the public, that those were whales. The illusion of filmmaking I think is important for the audience.
Any possibility of an Alaska premiere for the movie?
There will be some screenings in Alaska. We worked out some arrangements with the Barrow school district to have a screening for them. But that's way, way down the road.
(Note: The Alaska screenings would be after the movie's premiere, Besser said.)
Should we expect to see the movie premiere in 2011?
You know there's a possibility but I think at this point, people are striving toward a 2012 release date.
Sixth-largest two-day snowfall in Fairbanks history dumps 18.5 inches
FAIRBANKS — It’s Fairbanks’ turn to dig out.
After watching blizzards bury the Midwest and Northeast this winter, Fairbanks residents woke up Monday to a taste of what folks in the Lower 48 have been enduring.
More than a foot and a half of snow fell Sunday and Monday, filling roads, driveways, sidewalks and parking lots with more snow than has been seen from one storm in more than 25 years.
Wind gusts of 15 to 30 mph caused blowing and drifting snow that reduced visibility to zero at times, making driving — or even walking — a serious challenge.
“This is like Minnesota or North Dakota,” said meteorologist Scott Berg at the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.
As of 3 p.m. Monday, 18.5 inches of snow had fallen at Fairbanks International Airport since 11:30 a.m. Sunday. That ranks as the sixth-greatest two-day snowfall on record dating back to 1904. The record is 26.9 inches on Feb. 11-12, 1966.
“That’s pretty impressive for a place that usually only gets 2 inches of snow at a time,” meteorologist Corey Bogel said.
The 24-hour total of 17.1 inches between 3 p.m. Sunday and 3 p.m. Monday was the second-greatest 24-hour snowfall in Fairbanks. The record is 20.1 inches in 24 hours spanning Feb. 11-12, 1966.
The snowfall Sunday and Monday broke records for those dates. The 6.7 inches of snow that fell Sunday topped the previous record of 4.6 inches in 1962 and the 11.8 inches that had fallen as of 3 p.m. Monday buried the old mark of 2.5 inches set in 1913.
The 11.8 inches that fell Monday was the eighth-greatest daily snowfall on record in Fairbanks, and it was still snowing when that measurement was taken, though the all-time record of 16.0 inches on Feb. 11, 1966 appeared safe. The last time more snow was recorded in a calendar day was 14.6 inches on Nov. 20, 1970.
Before this week, the biggest two-day snowfall in the past two decades was Feb. 17-18, 1996, when 14.3 inches fell.
A narrow band of heavy snow spread across the central Interior from Huslia to North Pole beginning at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The heaviest snow was in North Pole, where more than 20 inches was reported, according to Berg, who lives there.
The snow did not extend south of Nenana or Eielson Air Force Base, he said. Delta Junction had only a few flurries, as did Denali Park.
“It really varied widely how much snow each area got,” Berg said. “The heaviest bands were just south of Fairbanks across North Pole and Eielson.”
Wind that picked up after the snow tapered off Monday morning made matters worse, causing whiteout conditions and making life miserable for motorists and pedestrians alike.
“Now we know what those poor people on the East Coast have to deal with,” Nadia Bacon said as she brushed snow off her Toyota Yaris in the snow-clogged parking lot of Northgate Square.
Not far away, Al Lemieux was preparing chains for the back tires of his station wagon, which was stuck in the parking lot. Three men came by and pushed his car out.
“I was going to go to Brewster’s and figured this was the least chance I had to get stuck,” he said of his parking spot.
Plow trucks were out in force on Monday to clear driveways and parking lots. Richard Frerichs, who was plowing snow for Tanana Chiefs Conference, said he had been going nonstop since 8 a.m.
“It’s crazy,” Frerichs said. “It reminds me of the 1980s.”
The storm was a result of a low-pressure system that settled over the Arctic Slope and moisture pushed into Alaska from the Russian Far East, Berg said.
More snow is not expected until the end of the week, and highs today and Wednesday will be in the single digits above, with lows to 30 below.
The storm’s impact was lessened by school closures Monday and today for parent-teacher conferences. Also, state and federal offices were closed for Presidents’ Day, which meant less traffic on the roads.
If schools hadn’t been closed for parent-teacher conferences, there’s a good chance they would have been closed because of the snow, said Bill Bailey, spokesman for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.
“It would have been a challenge,” he said of the prospect of transporting students to schools.
People who had the day off got to wield snow shovels and snow blowers at home.
Bacon spent an hour and half shoveling her driveway Monday morning so she could make it to her daughter’s parent-teacher conference.
“I called the school to see if the teacher had made it in before I drove anywhere,” she said.
Some parents asked to reschedule conferences because of the weather. Bailey said the school district would do everything possible to accommodate parents who missed their child’s conference or in the event a teacher was not able to make it to school for a conference.
The school district was hoping to have parking lots cleared by the time students return Wednesday, Bailey said.
The storm pushed the snowfall for February up to 22.0 inches, which is more than three times the normal monthly average of 7.1 inches, but only about half the record of 43.1 inches set in February 1966.
The big dump of snow also helped Fairbanks make up a considerable snow deficit.
Before Sunday, only 33 inches of snow had fallen at the airport, which was about 24 inches below normal for that date. The season total now stands at 51.5 inches, which is only 7.3 inches below average.
The wind and snow caused several power outages around Fairbanks as a result of trees falling on power lines, said Golden Valley Electric Association spokeswoman Corrine Bradish.
Extended power outages were reported in the Birch Hill, Cripple Creek and Chena Ridge areas.
Because GVEA was closed Monday for the holiday, crews were called in to deal with the outages and were working as quickly as possible to restore power, she said.
“As long as the wind is blowing, this is going to go on for hours,” Bradish said.
Contact staff writer Tim Mowry at 459-7587.
Two-Day Dumps
Here are the 10 greatest two-day snowfalls on record in Fairbanks, according to statistics from the National Weather Service dating back to 1904. Curiously, the record year of 1990-91, which brought 147.3 inches of snow, did not make the list. The highest two-day snowfall that winter was 13.4 inches on March 23-24. Neither did the memorable winter of 1992-93 make the list. The greatest two-day snowfall that winter was 12.9 inches on Sept. 13-14.
Dates Snowfall
Feb. 11-12, 1966 26.9’’
Jan. 19-20, 1937 26.0’’
Dec. 16-17, 1984 23.1’’
Dec. 26-27, 1965 22.7’’
Feb. 12-13, 1966 18.6’’
Feb. 20-21, 2011 18.5’’
Dec. 18-19, 1968 17.9’’
March 24-25, 1963 17.2’’
Feb. 1-2, 1977 16.8’’
Nov. 19-20, 1970 16.4’’
After watching blizzards bury the Midwest and Northeast this winter, Fairbanks residents woke up Monday to a taste of what folks in the Lower 48 have been enduring.
More than a foot and a half of snow fell Sunday and Monday, filling roads, driveways, sidewalks and parking lots with more snow than has been seen from one storm in more than 25 years.
Wind gusts of 15 to 30 mph caused blowing and drifting snow that reduced visibility to zero at times, making driving — or even walking — a serious challenge.
“This is like Minnesota or North Dakota,” said meteorologist Scott Berg at the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.
As of 3 p.m. Monday, 18.5 inches of snow had fallen at Fairbanks International Airport since 11:30 a.m. Sunday. That ranks as the sixth-greatest two-day snowfall on record dating back to 1904. The record is 26.9 inches on Feb. 11-12, 1966.
“That’s pretty impressive for a place that usually only gets 2 inches of snow at a time,” meteorologist Corey Bogel said.
The 24-hour total of 17.1 inches between 3 p.m. Sunday and 3 p.m. Monday was the second-greatest 24-hour snowfall in Fairbanks. The record is 20.1 inches in 24 hours spanning Feb. 11-12, 1966.
The snowfall Sunday and Monday broke records for those dates. The 6.7 inches of snow that fell Sunday topped the previous record of 4.6 inches in 1962 and the 11.8 inches that had fallen as of 3 p.m. Monday buried the old mark of 2.5 inches set in 1913.
The 11.8 inches that fell Monday was the eighth-greatest daily snowfall on record in Fairbanks, and it was still snowing when that measurement was taken, though the all-time record of 16.0 inches on Feb. 11, 1966 appeared safe. The last time more snow was recorded in a calendar day was 14.6 inches on Nov. 20, 1970.
Before this week, the biggest two-day snowfall in the past two decades was Feb. 17-18, 1996, when 14.3 inches fell.
A narrow band of heavy snow spread across the central Interior from Huslia to North Pole beginning at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The heaviest snow was in North Pole, where more than 20 inches was reported, according to Berg, who lives there.
The snow did not extend south of Nenana or Eielson Air Force Base, he said. Delta Junction had only a few flurries, as did Denali Park.
“It really varied widely how much snow each area got,” Berg said. “The heaviest bands were just south of Fairbanks across North Pole and Eielson.”
Wind that picked up after the snow tapered off Monday morning made matters worse, causing whiteout conditions and making life miserable for motorists and pedestrians alike.
“Now we know what those poor people on the East Coast have to deal with,” Nadia Bacon said as she brushed snow off her Toyota Yaris in the snow-clogged parking lot of Northgate Square.
Not far away, Al Lemieux was preparing chains for the back tires of his station wagon, which was stuck in the parking lot. Three men came by and pushed his car out.
“I was going to go to Brewster’s and figured this was the least chance I had to get stuck,” he said of his parking spot.
Plow trucks were out in force on Monday to clear driveways and parking lots. Richard Frerichs, who was plowing snow for Tanana Chiefs Conference, said he had been going nonstop since 8 a.m.
“It’s crazy,” Frerichs said. “It reminds me of the 1980s.”
The storm was a result of a low-pressure system that settled over the Arctic Slope and moisture pushed into Alaska from the Russian Far East, Berg said.
More snow is not expected until the end of the week, and highs today and Wednesday will be in the single digits above, with lows to 30 below.
The storm’s impact was lessened by school closures Monday and today for parent-teacher conferences. Also, state and federal offices were closed for Presidents’ Day, which meant less traffic on the roads.
If schools hadn’t been closed for parent-teacher conferences, there’s a good chance they would have been closed because of the snow, said Bill Bailey, spokesman for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.
“It would have been a challenge,” he said of the prospect of transporting students to schools.
People who had the day off got to wield snow shovels and snow blowers at home.
Bacon spent an hour and half shoveling her driveway Monday morning so she could make it to her daughter’s parent-teacher conference.
“I called the school to see if the teacher had made it in before I drove anywhere,” she said.
Some parents asked to reschedule conferences because of the weather. Bailey said the school district would do everything possible to accommodate parents who missed their child’s conference or in the event a teacher was not able to make it to school for a conference.
The school district was hoping to have parking lots cleared by the time students return Wednesday, Bailey said.
The storm pushed the snowfall for February up to 22.0 inches, which is more than three times the normal monthly average of 7.1 inches, but only about half the record of 43.1 inches set in February 1966.
The big dump of snow also helped Fairbanks make up a considerable snow deficit.
Before Sunday, only 33 inches of snow had fallen at the airport, which was about 24 inches below normal for that date. The season total now stands at 51.5 inches, which is only 7.3 inches below average.
The wind and snow caused several power outages around Fairbanks as a result of trees falling on power lines, said Golden Valley Electric Association spokeswoman Corrine Bradish.
Extended power outages were reported in the Birch Hill, Cripple Creek and Chena Ridge areas.
Because GVEA was closed Monday for the holiday, crews were called in to deal with the outages and were working as quickly as possible to restore power, she said.
“As long as the wind is blowing, this is going to go on for hours,” Bradish said.
Contact staff writer Tim Mowry at 459-7587.
Two-Day Dumps
Here are the 10 greatest two-day snowfalls on record in Fairbanks, according to statistics from the National Weather Service dating back to 1904. Curiously, the record year of 1990-91, which brought 147.3 inches of snow, did not make the list. The highest two-day snowfall that winter was 13.4 inches on March 23-24. Neither did the memorable winter of 1992-93 make the list. The greatest two-day snowfall that winter was 12.9 inches on Sept. 13-14.
Dates Snowfall
Feb. 11-12, 1966 26.9’’
Jan. 19-20, 1937 26.0’’
Dec. 16-17, 1984 23.1’’
Dec. 26-27, 1965 22.7’’
Feb. 12-13, 1966 18.6’’
Feb. 20-21, 2011 18.5’’
Dec. 18-19, 1968 17.9’’
March 24-25, 1963 17.2’’
Feb. 1-2, 1977 16.8’’
Nov. 19-20, 1970 16.4’’
Near-disaster during refueling forces veterans out of race 'BIG BALL OF FIRE': Gas splatters hot muffler, ignites.
The brutal 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race where racers annually endure bone-chilling temperatures faced a new peril Sunday afternoon -- fire.
A little after 2 p.m., the duo of veteran drivers Tyson Johnson of Eagle River and Tyler Aklestad of Palmer pulled into the Puntilla Lake checkpoint at Rainy Pass, about 130 miles into the race.
The team fueled up from one of the 13 fuel drums lined up at the checkpoint high in the Alaska Range. Aklestad was filling his Ski-Doo and turned to take a drink, handing over duties to a volunteer, when the tank filled and overflowed. Gas spewing out was swiftly ignited by a scorching muffler.
"The machine was hot, and it got overfilled," said Steve Perrin, owner of The Perrins Rainy Pass Lodge that serves as the checkpoint. "The guy pulled the hose out and it splattered on a hot engine. It popped and ignited."
For a few seconds, all hell broke loose.
"All of a sudden," Johnson said by phone Monday night, "there was a big ball of fire and people were running."
Race volunteers splattered by the gas suddenly were ablaze.
"They dropped and rolled," Perrin said. "It was really fortunate nobody got hurt. It just happened so fast. For a few minutes there, it did not look good."
Gas on top of one of the fuel drums burned, prompting worries of a major explosion.
That didn't happen, but one of the volunteer checkers, Randy Arndt, received slight burns on his face, Perrin said. All three were rolled in the snow by fellow volunteers to extinguish the flames.
Meanwhile, Perrin's wife Denise came running with a fire extinguisher and volunteers at the scene threw snow at the flames or helped roll the victims in snow.
"It was a good three feet over the top of the snowmachine when it first popped," Perrin said of the fireball. "Everybody was throwing snow all over. But it was over fast."
Perrin had the topical cream Silvadine at the lodge to apply to Arndt's burns, which he described as minor.
"It's really, really unfortunate," said Jim Wilke, vice president of the Iron Dog board of directors. "But it's one of those things we really can't do much about.
"We don't know if anybody's at fault," he said. "The race runs with help of volunteers and occasionally volunteers are going to make mistakes. There just isn't a solution. It's unfortunate.
"We try as an organization to do the right thing. Occasionally, things slip through the cracks."
Johnson said the biggest mistake was the lack of a fire extinguish where the fuel was being pumped.
Even after the fireball, Johnson and Aklestad thought they could rejoin the lead pack. The only damage, Johnson thought, was a burned recoil rope. But just 4 miles down the trail, Aklestad's machine seized up. The fire had melted his oil lines.
The team's Iron Dog was over.
The duo, considered among the fastest teams in this year's race, had two second-place finishes in the previous four Iron Dogs, but their races have frequently been plagued by accidents and lousy luck.
"It's getting to where it's almost like it's not going to happen," Johnson said. "It starts to get pretty discouraging after a while."
Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, a collection of top racers were resting on a layover in the Yukon River town of Galena on Monday night with the top seven teams just 59 minutes apart.
At the front were defending champions Tyler Huntington of Fairbanks and Chris Olds of Eagle River, who pulled into the Yukon River checkpoint of Galena at 3:28 p.m.
Two minutes back was a double shot of Davises -- 51-year-old Scott Davis of Soldotna, who is tied with John Faeo as the winningest racer in Iron Dog history, and his brash 22-year-old son Cory, the two-time Winter X Games medalist.
Seven minutes behind the Davis duo was last year's runnerup, Doug Dixon of Anchorage, and his new partner, Wayne Wold of Wasilla, both riding Arctic Cats.
In order behind them were:
• David Branholm of Big Lake and Matthew Spernak of Anchorage on Polaris machines;
• Wasilla Polaris drivers Ryan Sottosanti -- who was sixth as a rookie last year -- and new partner Andrew Zwink; and
• The Tanana rookie brother tandem of Aaron and Arnold Marks on Polaris machines.
And after a few rough years of racing, Scott Davis -- a name for decades linked with the upper echelon of Iron Dog standings -- was back in a familiar spot among the leaders of the world's longest and toughest snowmobile race.
"In the Iron Dog," the younger Davis told the Daily News before the race, "you're trying to go as fast as you can and have the sled hold on the whole time. I don't know how to do that, but my dad sure does. He'll lead and I'll follow. He's more or less the boss."
The Davis duo rocketed along faster than many morning Seward Highway commuters early Monday morning, averaging nearly 60 mph on the run from McGrath to Ophir.
As usual, the rugged Iron Dog took its toll, with eight teams already having scratched. Most prominent among them was the 2009 champions, Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad, who scratched in Big Lake on Sunday not far from the start.
Minnick was thrown from his sled after hitting some ice, seriously injuring his leg. He was recovering at home on Monday.
Other teams that scratched include:
• Ski-Doo drivers Ryan Bloom of Anchorage and Dennis Falldorf of Ketchikan in McGrath;
• Louis Miller III and his son Louis Miller IV, last year's seventh-place finishers, pulled out McGrath with mechanical issues.
• Idaho racers Derrick Johnson and Steve Piper in Puntilla;
• Wasilla rookies Joe D'Amico and 67-year-old John Glass, the oldest racer in this year's Iron Dog, scratched in Puntilla.
Racers are expected into the halfway point of Nome on Tuesday, where they will take an extended break from the rigors of the trail.
A little after 2 p.m., the duo of veteran drivers Tyson Johnson of Eagle River and Tyler Aklestad of Palmer pulled into the Puntilla Lake checkpoint at Rainy Pass, about 130 miles into the race.
The team fueled up from one of the 13 fuel drums lined up at the checkpoint high in the Alaska Range. Aklestad was filling his Ski-Doo and turned to take a drink, handing over duties to a volunteer, when the tank filled and overflowed. Gas spewing out was swiftly ignited by a scorching muffler.
"The machine was hot, and it got overfilled," said Steve Perrin, owner of The Perrins Rainy Pass Lodge that serves as the checkpoint. "The guy pulled the hose out and it splattered on a hot engine. It popped and ignited."
For a few seconds, all hell broke loose.
"All of a sudden," Johnson said by phone Monday night, "there was a big ball of fire and people were running."
Race volunteers splattered by the gas suddenly were ablaze.
"They dropped and rolled," Perrin said. "It was really fortunate nobody got hurt. It just happened so fast. For a few minutes there, it did not look good."
Gas on top of one of the fuel drums burned, prompting worries of a major explosion.
That didn't happen, but one of the volunteer checkers, Randy Arndt, received slight burns on his face, Perrin said. All three were rolled in the snow by fellow volunteers to extinguish the flames.
Meanwhile, Perrin's wife Denise came running with a fire extinguisher and volunteers at the scene threw snow at the flames or helped roll the victims in snow.
"It was a good three feet over the top of the snowmachine when it first popped," Perrin said of the fireball. "Everybody was throwing snow all over. But it was over fast."
Perrin had the topical cream Silvadine at the lodge to apply to Arndt's burns, which he described as minor.
"It's really, really unfortunate," said Jim Wilke, vice president of the Iron Dog board of directors. "But it's one of those things we really can't do much about.
"We don't know if anybody's at fault," he said. "The race runs with help of volunteers and occasionally volunteers are going to make mistakes. There just isn't a solution. It's unfortunate.
"We try as an organization to do the right thing. Occasionally, things slip through the cracks."
Johnson said the biggest mistake was the lack of a fire extinguish where the fuel was being pumped.
Even after the fireball, Johnson and Aklestad thought they could rejoin the lead pack. The only damage, Johnson thought, was a burned recoil rope. But just 4 miles down the trail, Aklestad's machine seized up. The fire had melted his oil lines.
The team's Iron Dog was over.
The duo, considered among the fastest teams in this year's race, had two second-place finishes in the previous four Iron Dogs, but their races have frequently been plagued by accidents and lousy luck.
"It's getting to where it's almost like it's not going to happen," Johnson said. "It starts to get pretty discouraging after a while."
Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, a collection of top racers were resting on a layover in the Yukon River town of Galena on Monday night with the top seven teams just 59 minutes apart.
At the front were defending champions Tyler Huntington of Fairbanks and Chris Olds of Eagle River, who pulled into the Yukon River checkpoint of Galena at 3:28 p.m.
Two minutes back was a double shot of Davises -- 51-year-old Scott Davis of Soldotna, who is tied with John Faeo as the winningest racer in Iron Dog history, and his brash 22-year-old son Cory, the two-time Winter X Games medalist.
Seven minutes behind the Davis duo was last year's runnerup, Doug Dixon of Anchorage, and his new partner, Wayne Wold of Wasilla, both riding Arctic Cats.
In order behind them were:
• David Branholm of Big Lake and Matthew Spernak of Anchorage on Polaris machines;
• Wasilla Polaris drivers Ryan Sottosanti -- who was sixth as a rookie last year -- and new partner Andrew Zwink; and
• The Tanana rookie brother tandem of Aaron and Arnold Marks on Polaris machines.
And after a few rough years of racing, Scott Davis -- a name for decades linked with the upper echelon of Iron Dog standings -- was back in a familiar spot among the leaders of the world's longest and toughest snowmobile race.
"In the Iron Dog," the younger Davis told the Daily News before the race, "you're trying to go as fast as you can and have the sled hold on the whole time. I don't know how to do that, but my dad sure does. He'll lead and I'll follow. He's more or less the boss."
The Davis duo rocketed along faster than many morning Seward Highway commuters early Monday morning, averaging nearly 60 mph on the run from McGrath to Ophir.
As usual, the rugged Iron Dog took its toll, with eight teams already having scratched. Most prominent among them was the 2009 champions, Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad, who scratched in Big Lake on Sunday not far from the start.
Minnick was thrown from his sled after hitting some ice, seriously injuring his leg. He was recovering at home on Monday.
Other teams that scratched include:
• Ski-Doo drivers Ryan Bloom of Anchorage and Dennis Falldorf of Ketchikan in McGrath;
• Louis Miller III and his son Louis Miller IV, last year's seventh-place finishers, pulled out McGrath with mechanical issues.
• Idaho racers Derrick Johnson and Steve Piper in Puntilla;
• Wasilla rookies Joe D'Amico and 67-year-old John Glass, the oldest racer in this year's Iron Dog, scratched in Puntilla.
Racers are expected into the halfway point of Nome on Tuesday, where they will take an extended break from the rigors of the trail.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Rep. Cissna objects to airport search, returns to Alaska by sea
SEATTLE -- An Alaskan state lawmaker is returning home by sea after refusing a pat-down search at a Seattle airport, a spokeswoman said.
Rep. Sharon Cissna underwent a body scan as she was preparing to leave Sea-Tac Airport Sunday and was then required to undergo the pat-down by Transportation Safety Administration officials, said Michelle Scannell, her chief of staff.
Scannell said that TSA called for the pat-down because the scan showed Cissna had had a mastectomy. She described the search as "intrusive." She did not elaborate on that description.
Scannell said the Anchorage Democrat was told to undergo the pat-down or leave the airport.
TSA spokesman Kwika Riley was asked to respond to Cissna's comments when contacted by The Associated Press. But a general statement issued later did not mention her or her claims, saying the agency is "sensitive to the concerns of passengers who were not satisfied with their screening experience and we invite those individuals to provide feedback to TSA."
Both full body scanners and pat-down searches have come under increasing criticism as the TSA has stepped up its airport security measures.
Cissna, who had undergone medical treatment in Seattle, is traveling by ferry from Seattle to Juneau, Scannell said.
Rep. Sharon Cissna underwent a body scan as she was preparing to leave Sea-Tac Airport Sunday and was then required to undergo the pat-down by Transportation Safety Administration officials, said Michelle Scannell, her chief of staff.
Scannell said that TSA called for the pat-down because the scan showed Cissna had had a mastectomy. She described the search as "intrusive." She did not elaborate on that description.
Scannell said the Anchorage Democrat was told to undergo the pat-down or leave the airport.
TSA spokesman Kwika Riley was asked to respond to Cissna's comments when contacted by The Associated Press. But a general statement issued later did not mention her or her claims, saying the agency is "sensitive to the concerns of passengers who were not satisfied with their screening experience and we invite those individuals to provide feedback to TSA."
Both full body scanners and pat-down searches have come under increasing criticism as the TSA has stepped up its airport security measures.
Cissna, who had undergone medical treatment in Seattle, is traveling by ferry from Seattle to Juneau, Scannell said.
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