“I appreciate Interior’s final approval of Shell’s contingency plan for the Chukchi,” Murkowski said. “Today’s decision confirms what we’ve known for some time – that Shell has put together a robust and comprehensive spill prevention and response plan that offers the highest level of environmental protection. This represents great news for Alaska and the entire country,” Murkowski said. “I cannot overstate the opportunity that Arctic exploration offers in terms of jobs and energy security,” added Murkowski.

She believes that this approval marks a significant event not just for Shell but also for Alaska in terms of advancing exploration programs in Alaska’s arctic waters. Shell, which spent $2.1 billion on leases in the Chukchi Sea in 2008, has applied to drill exploratory wells in the Chukchi this summer. As of current, Shell is still waiting for the finalization of permits for the Chukchi plan from agencies such as the Interior, the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As the ranking member of both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Murkowski has constantly showed personal enthusiasm on potential investment plans on Alaska’s abundant oil resources.

“Alaska’s offshore resources represent one of our greatest opportunities to get America’s economy moving again,” Murkowski said. “As the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has testified, the homework is done and we are ready and waiting to move forward with safe and responsible exploration of our huge energy resources.”

PHOTO CREDIT

Some of the good practices introduced by BBB when handling suspicious mails (esp. those coming from the fake BBB) include scanning BBB emails for typos; obvious grammatical errors are an indication that emails are counterfeit; checking the senders’ email addresses; complaint notices are generated by local BBBs and not from the Council of Better Business Bureaus—or CBBB; and hovering the mouse cursor over enclosed links; beware if Web addresses do not reflect bbb.org.

One of the easiest ways to check malicious links is to copy and paste enclosed links directly into text editors that do not support HTML—such as Notepad—and the direct links will be shown.

BBB serving Alaska , Oregon and Western Washington informs the public that they do send their complaints and notices through email, mail and fax and for security purposes, Alaskans are highly advised to contact the local BBB office to verify the legitimacy of any official-looking correspondence sent by the organization.

If you have been a victim of these scams, report it by visiting bbb.org/scam/report-a-scam. Suspicious mails are encouraged to be forwarded to phishing@council.bbb.org.

About BBB

Better Business Bureau serving Alaska , Oregon and Western Washington is a neutral not-for-profit organization supported by BBB Accredited Businesses that provides ethical business standards, BBB Business Reviews, Charity Reviews, complaint handling, marketplace events and tips.

PHOTO CREDIT

Fairbanks

Seven new cases were recorded for reckless drivers in Fairbanks, all of them were subsequently arrested for Driving While Intoxicated. Drivers’ ages range from early twenties to early fifties with majority of the drivers aging 23 and mostly females. All of those arrested were brought to the Fairbanks Correctional Center.

Wasilla

Drivers arrested in Wasilla were confined at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility for Driving Under Influence of alcohol and drugs. Drivers were mostly females in their early twenties with a few exceptions of those under early thirties. The arrested drivers may be bailed with $500-$1000 except for those with additional charges.

Homer

Two drivers from Homer were arrested on Feb. 4 and 5 respectively due to driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages. Both drivers were brought to Homer jail until they’re bailed out.

Kodiak

One of the two drivers arrested in Kodiak, Paul D. Burns II, was not just driving under alcohol influence but was also found out to possess a load of marijuana and hashish. Both drivers were brought to Kodiak Police Department Jail with a bail amount of $1000- $2250.

Other reckless drivers were arrested in Scout Lake Loop Rd, Sterling, Willow, Girdwood, Ketchikan, Palmer, Aniak, Noorvik, and North Pole.

PHOTO CREDIT

In Fairbanks, the Alaska State Troopers arrested Daniel S. Vaughn (age 22) and Ashleigh Nikole Dennis (age 20) for DUI on February 19, 2012. Both were brought to the Fairbanks Correctional Center after being arrested.

In Salcha, an unidentified driver has been arrested for driving after consuming approximately 500mg of Benadryl. Charges for DUI will be forwarded after the driver is discharged from the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

Three drivers were arrested in Big Lake from Feb 17-18. The offenders were identified as Justin E. Corns, Ivan Afonin and Raymond Letendre, ages 24, 36 and 41 respectively. Corns has had two outstanding AST arrest warrants and with bail set at $1,750 while Afonin has a bail set at $1000 for DUI. Letendre has a bail set at $5000 for driving without a license while under alcohol influence. All drivers were remanded at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.

In Girdwood, Troopers contacted Fotinia Kuznetsoff, age 41 of Willow, the driver of the vehicle. The subsequent investigation revealed that Kuznetsoff had been driving the vehicle while license was revoked for 2 prior DUI convictions. His bail is set at $12, 500 and was brought to the Anchorage Jail.

Wasilla has, so far, the highest number of drivers arrested for DUI last week with over 8 identified offenders from Feb. 10-18. Reported offenders were Charley Gregory, age 38,  Jesse Ottoson, age 25, Johnathon W. Kelsey, age 25, Tammy Gardner, age 43, Christopher Hall, age 29, James P. Gardner, age 45, Andrew P. Johnnie III, age 26, Jonathan Chandler, age 20, and Dusty V. Bannon. All were brought to Mat-Su Pretrial facility.

In Palmer, Alicia Banners, age 43 and Jeffery L. Grummett, age 47 were arrested for DUI, with Grummett facing additional charges for driving with a revoked license. Both were remanded into the Mat-Su Pretrial facility.

In Soldotna, 52 years old Kenneth Murray has been arrested for DUI and driving with a revoked license. Murray was transported to Wildwood Pretrial where he was
remanded without bail.

In Sleetmute, Alaska State Troopers contacted and arrested Pete Zaukar age 46 for driving while under the influence of alcoholic beverages.  Zaukar was arrested for DUI, transported and remanded into Bethel YKCC.

PHOTO CREDIT

“Alaska’s Republican Presidential Preference Poll has four certified candidates. In the order certified – Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum,” declared Ruedrich.

The Alaska Republican Party Presidential Preference Poll is being done state wide and helps determine how Alaska votes on selecting the Republican Presidential candidate at the National Republican Convention. The results of the poll bind Alaska’s 24 Republican National Convention Delegates for the first two rounds of voting at the Tampa Republican National Convention in September 2012.

After the poll on March 6 follows the district convention scheduled on Saturday, March 10, 2012.

Upcoming Events Include:

NEW District 9 Convention

The new District 9 Convention will be at the Menard Sports Arena, March 17, 2012, Registration 8 A.M., Meeting 9 A.M. Thru 2 P.M. Cleanup. 2 P.M. Thru 3 P.M.

NEW District 39 Republicans Convention Meeting

The Alaska District 39 Republicans will be holding their convention on March 24, 2012 at 3pm in the City Council Chambers, in the Nome City Hall.

STATE CONVENTION

On April 26-28, the State Republican Convention shall elect State officers, National Convention Delegates, adopt State Party Rules, Platform and Resolutions at the State Convention.

PHOTO CREDIT

Affordable health care, is it still up in the air, depends upon the court system.

It is extremely unlikely that the stay will be granted, the judge was very definitive on the ruling, Union Organizer, Matt Fennel says. “In general, the hotel management is trying to undermine employee union benefits.” Those benefits mentioned by Fennel have to do with housekeeping standards like dangerous work loads and getting rid of the affordable health benefits for employees.

The same company has had issues in both Florida and Indiana regarding employee labor issues. Alaskan Legislators have called upon the management to ” respect Alaskan workers and obey the rule of federal law,” they say in support of District Judge Timothy Burgess’ February 2nd order granting a preliminary injunction against Remington Lodging and Hospitality. Five State of Alaska Senators and six House of Representative Members signed a letter to the Texas company.

“This injunction will provide immediate meaningful relief to Alaskan workers employed by the Sheraton Hotel from their employer’s interference with their self-organization, collective bargaining rights, and labor union; their employer’s discrimination against employees in the terms and conditions of their employment; and more,” says a recent press release on behalf of the legislators.

The legislators who signed the letter were Senators Davis, Egan, Ellis, French and Wielechowski, and House Members Kawasaki, Miller, Tuck, Guttenberg, Holmes and Gara.

PHOTO CREDIT

The case investigation began when Young Suk Chong, employee of The Taxi Company in Bethel, Alaska, the victim, was reported missing at 3AM on January 1, 2012. Later, reports about a cab found near the dump in the village of Napakiak, approximately 15 miles south west of Bethel reached the Alaska State Troopers.  The victim was then identified as Young Suk Chong.

The investigation was immediately started on February 2, 2012 and suspect, Kyle Motgin of Napakiak, was then identified on the same day, although police did not release his name until a few days later. An outstanding felony arrest warrant was used to arrest Motgin for or Assault 4th, Assault 3rd, and Probation Violation, which were not related to the homicide investigation. A total of 8 search warrants were granted to the investigators handling the case.  Investigators worked closely with the Bethel District Attorney’s Office and the State Medical Examiner’s Office throughout the week.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage run the autopsy on Chong’s body on February 4-7, 2012. While Motgin is currently incarcerated at the correctional center, investigations and examination of the evidences ensue.

PHOTO CREDIT

“Only direct expenses incurred in Alaska, from Alaska vendors, during the qualification period will be eligible for the tax credit. To qualify, wages, salaries and professional fees must be for time spent in Alaska during the qualification period–salaries and fees must be pro-rated based on percent of project spend in Alaska,” as stated in the brief synopsis presented by Red Rock Films.

“Eligible projects are broadly defined as film, documentary, commercial, and video productions. We require a minimum of $100,000 of qualified expenditures in Alaska. Unlike some incentive programs, we do not have salary caps or project caps. We do not require your company to be domiciled in Alaska, nor do we have minimum requirements for principle photography days or Alaska hire. We provide additional incentives for Alaska hire, off-season production and productions filmed in rural locations,” an official statement from the Alaska Film Office.

Under this program, companies can qualify to a maximum of 44% in a transferrable tax credit on qualified production expenditures made in Alaska. In addition, wages paid Alaska residents receive an additional 10% credit. Production expenditures made between Oct. 1 and Mar. 30 receive an added 2% credit. Production expenditures made in a rural area also receive an added 2% credit.

The Alaska Film Office Manager, David Worrell was hired on July 2009 mainly because of his excellent background in the film industry and the Alaska State Gov’t Service.

PHOTO CREDIT

“We’ve moved the chute about a hundred feet to the right, we’re putting up banners, tents are going up, we’re good to go,” he says.

Big Lake Winter Fest, at Big Lake, Alaska, during Iron Dog Weekend, on Saturday, February 18th marks the beginning of “The Iron Dog® World’s Longest Toughest Snowmobile Race”.  From ten a.m. until midnight, the Winter Fest goes on, and racing starts at Seven-thirty a.m. until the eleven a.m. Pro Class Start happens. The multi-community race continues all week, with the halfway point in Nome, Alaska, and the finish at Fairbanks, Alaska. GPS race tracking is on their website.  The schedule is online and can be printed out.

Fundraising is a part of the organization as a non-profit. Last week, the day before the February 11, 2012 Iron Dog Safety Expo, Tech Inspection and Banquet in Wasilla, Alaska, sponsored by Donlin Gold, Kastner spoke a bit about fundraising. He expressed concern about their raffle sales, although as of today, Friday, February 17th, things were looking good.

On February eleventh, he said “I’m worried more about raffle sales than banquet tickets.”  On the Iron Dog blog, he also makes a few comments about fundraising, expressing interest in being able to be on more even footing with the likes of the Nenana Ice Classic and The Iditarod. At this time there are no legislative actions in process to make that come about, although both the House and Senate are in process of “An Act establishing a snow classic as an authorized form of charitable gaming,” which is listed for Four Valleys Community School, Inc.

The raffle that Iron Dog is holding could be described as a mega-raffle, with prizes like a 2012 Toyota Tundra, a 2012 Polaris Rush PRO R 600, and a Hawaiian vacation for two, just to mention a few. With only 2,000 tickets to be sold, the odds of winning are fairly good. Since the drawing is to be held in only one week, people are encouraged to either call the Anchorage or Fairbanks Iron Dog offices, or seek tickets out at the events.

Alaska’s Healing Hearts and the Iron Dog have teamed up with the donators for the Alaskan combat veterans who will benefit from the 2012 Iron Dog Raffle. Kendall Toyota of Alaska donated the Toyota, Alaska Power Sports donated the Polaris, and USTravel donated the Hawaiian vacation. All the prizes and sponsors are listed on the Iron Dog website.

Photo Credit

Voice Your Opinion Now, Keep ARR on Track

Alaska Railroad (ARRC) is showcasing Seward Coal Loading Facility Improvements and East and West Dock plans, to name a few at this last open house this winter. The open house will have continuing and proposed projects in various stages. Friday February 17th is the date.

Worlds 2nd Longest Single Span railroad bridge in the world, shown here, from below the bridge, is located in Nenana, Alaska. Photo by Diane Neill Jensen

Community members can review and talk with ARR project managers about projects near Seward and Southcentral Alaska. In addition to the above mentioned projects, also covered are the Chugach Forest Whistle Stop System, the Portage Section Maintenance Facility, the Whittier Master Planning and Security Fencing, Ship Creek Intermodal Transportation Center, and the MP 142 Curve Realignment Near Eklutna. Also, included are the plans for the Port MacKenzie Rail Extension, Positive Train Control, and the topic of Track Rehabilitation in the area, plus Bridge Rehabilitation/Replacement, Passenger Car Upgrades, and Locomotive Overhauls and Emission Improvements.

Project Managers will also be able to talk and/or answer questions about the ARR’s 2012 POP projects in other areas of the Alaska Railbelt, which start in Seward and end near Fairbanks, Alaska. The Seward event is being held at 303 North Harbor Street, at the Breeze Inn in Seward and goes from ten in the morning until one-thirty in the afternoon. All projects can be found on the ARR’s website at http://alaskarailroad.com/

Previously, POPs were held in Anchorage January 17, in Wasilla January 18, and Fairbanks January 31.

Photo Credit