Entries in Dermot Cole for February, 2009
Top spellers display their skills
The top finishers in the 16th Annual Interior Alaska Spelling Bee today showed they have a way with words.
Tianna Beckley, a seventh-grader at the Chugach Extension home school program, edged Miranda Atkinson, a sixth-grader at Denali Elementary School, to claim the spelling title.
Skiland to host race series for Skyler Twitchell
Local skiers and snowboarders plan to start a three-race series at Skiland this Sunday, a benefit for Skyler Twitchell.
With 4,700 boxes, Stevens' papers at UAF will be largest archival collection
The university announced today that former Sen. Ted Stevens is sending the records of his 40-year Senate career to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. About three or four truckloads are expected in Fairbanks by late March.
The Rasmuson Library at UAF, the preeminent research library in the state, is the natural place for what could become the most important historical archive on issues ranging from the oil pipeline and Native land claims to the gas pipeline.
Surprise in stimulus bill chops Fairbanks road allocation
The new federal stimulus law has turned into Murphy’s Law for Fairbanks road projects. One of its obscure provisions wipes out the allocation of about $5 million in highway money that had been expected in our community.
Winter motorcyclists aim to ride to Prudhoe Bay
A 47-year-old Dutchman who lists his occupation as “world traveler,” and a 42-year-old German who has also traveled the world, arrived in Fairbanks on motorcycles this weekend.
Alaska jobs and federal spending
The estimate that the new stimulus law would create or save 8,000 jobs in Alaska is derived from a federal review that warns against putting too much emphasis on an exact number right now.
Fairbanks DOT employee wins erosion education award
Fairbanksan Sam Lamont took home a top award from the International Erosion Control Association for his educational work on behalf of the state Department of Transportation.
Governor has opportunity to say 'Thanks but no thanks'
Gov. Sarah Palin released a statement today saying she opposes the stimulus bill approved by Congress and suggests that maybe the state won't take some of the money offered by the federal government. The governor should follow this up with a statement about specific projects that she wants to reject.
Japanese hiker crosses Arctic Circle
Reports from Dalton Highway travelers place the Japanese hiker about two miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Friends plan benefit for Johnson family
Friends of Linda and Alan Johnson are planning a spaghetti dinner and silent auction Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the commons of Monroe High School.
Stellar Rotarians win spelling title
The "Stellar Spellers" lived up their name at the 17th annual Biz Bee Thursday night in a record field of 26 teams Barbara Schuhmann, Dan Bergeron and Bob Howard took the title for the Downtown Fairbanks Rotary Club.
Federal bill would create or save 8,000 Alaska jobs, White House estimates
An early summary of the federal stimulus bill released today estimates that 8,000 jobs in Alaska would be created or saved under terms of the House-Senate compromise in Congress.
It's not a precise calculation, however, as there are also supposed to be 8,000 new jobs in Vermont, Wyoming and North Dakota.
'We absolutely did not see the financial meltdown coming,' Permanent Fund consultant says
The executive director and the top consultant to the Alaska Permanent Fund went back before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday, offering direct statements about the "miserable results" from the final months of 2008 and the collapse they didn't see coming.
Permanent Fund and its advisers should say where the forecasts went wrong
When the principal consultant and the executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund appeared before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday, this is what I would have liked to hear: “We didn't see the collapse coming. We missed it. Just like most of the other high-paid experts."
Wednesday dinner and auction to benefit victim of violent attack
A spaghetti feed and auction planned Wednesday at West Valley High School is aimed at helping Skyler Twitchell on the road to recovery.
Sundborg helped write Alaska's constitution
My column today is about the death of George Sundborg, a retired Alaska newspaperman, author and government official who served as a delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention.
Measures to repeal defined contribution retirement plans gain backers in Juneau
Did the state of Alaska make a mistake when it adopted "defined contribution" retirement plans in which new workers bear the risk of losses from bad investments?
A growing number of legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, say "yes."
Food fight: Ramras, Palin trade attacks over response to villages
The press releases from Gov. Sarah Palin and Fairbanks Rep. Jay Ramras over the past two days are not from the "If you can't say something nice" playbook.
Begich says stimulus bill could create 8,700 Alaska jobs
Alaska Sen. Mark Begich released a list today of some of the specifics proposed for Alaska in the so-called stimulus bill under review in the Senate, saying that the measure could lead to 8,700 new jobs in the state.
Begich is suggesting amendments that would give state leaders the chance to say "thanks, but no thanks" to the aid.
Hundreds dine for free at Denny's
• By 9:30 a.m. today, 489 people had ordered free Grand Slam breakfasts at the farthest north Denny's.
•There are 1,985 households in Alaska on the waiting list for TV converter boxes. Congress may vote Wednesday to delay the digital deadline.
•Alaska Airlines plans to start nonstop service from Seattle to Austin and from Portland to Maui in August.
• The new revenue forecast today says the state will take in $5.5 billion this fiscal year, down $1.2 billion from the forecast released Dec. 9. It appears that $1.5 billion or so of the money set aside last year may be expended this year.
•On average, the January weather was about average in Fairbanks. It was the 42nd coldest and wettest January in the past century.
Oil companies say charitable donation formula no longer applies
BP and ConocoPhillips say they will continue to give millions to the university and other entities in Alaska, but the formula spelled out in the charter agreement with the state a decade ago no longer applies.
