Posted less than an hour ago
by By The Associated Press
Life is returning to normal after flooding earlier this week forced more than two dozen people to evacuate the village of Kwethluk on the lower Kuskokwim River.
City Clerk Lillian Michael says officials with the National Weather Service and the state were traveling Thursday to the village of 766 people to assess the situation.
Michael says flooding was the worst on Monday when about 30 people, most of them with chronic medical conditions, were evacuated to the neighboring city of Bethel. She says at that time flood waters surrounded the post office and other village buildings, but have since receded.
She says some elders refused to leave their homes.
Michael says students were back in class on Thursday and graduation would be held as planned on Friday.
Posted today at 1:25pm
by By The Associated Press
The White House on Thursday ordered federal, state and local prisons, jails and detention facilities to step up the fight against prison rape, issuing mandatory screening, enforcement and prevention regulations in hopes of reducing sexual victimization behind bars.
While the regulations have been in the works for years, the announcement comes on the heels of a Justice Department survey of former state and local prisoners that showed almost one in every 10 said they were sexually victimized at least once in prison by prison staff or other inmates.
"Sexual violence, against any victim, is an assault on human dignity and an affront to American values," President Barack Obama said in a White House memo.
The new regulations are immediately binding on federal prisons.
They include screening inmates for the potential of sexual victimization and using that information in housing and work assignments, requiring background checks on employees, keeping juvenile inmates away from adult inmates, and requiring evidence preservation after a reported incident and requiring termination as the presumptive punishment for staff members.
States who don't fall in line face a loss of 5 percent of their Justice Department prison money unless their governor certifies that the same amount of money is being used to be bring the state into compliance.
Prison accreditation organizations also will be banned from getting federal grants unless they include similar anti-prison rape standards in their accreditation process.
Obama also announced that the Prison Rape Elimination Act would apply to all federal confinement facilities, and all other agencies with confinement facilities were required to have protocol to fight prison rape within a year.
"The standards we establish today reflect the fact that sexual assault crimes committed within our correctional facilities can have devastating consequences for individual victims and for communities far beyond our jails and prisons," Attorney General Eric Holder said. "These standards are the result of a thoughtful and deliberative process and represent a critical step forward in protecting the rights and safety of all Americans."
The Obama administration announcement came as the Bureau of Justice Statistics released its first-ever National Former Prisoners Survey, which found that 9.6 percent of former inmates said they were sexually victimized in jails, prisons and halfway houses.
A somewhat similar survey of still-imprisoned convicts done by the same agency in 2008-09 found that only 4.4 percent of state and federal inmates said they were sexually victimized.
The difference may be because the former inmates in the current survey were asked about a longer time period than in the previous survey, said Allen J. Beck, one of the authors of the survey.
But it also could be that former inmates may be more willing to talk about the sexual victimization than the inmates currently housed inside those facilities, who have concerns about retaliation or retribution for speaking up.
Critics have said inmates may be willing to lie on these surveys in an attempt to embarrass a facility or refuse to report an incident for fear of retaliation.
"By looking at inmates who are out of that environment, who no longer have that immediate fear of retaliation, of retribution, who moreover don't have an immediate motivation to falsely accuse since they're out of the facility entirely, we get a sense that through interviewing these former inmates that our past work is confirmed, that some of the concerns about false negatives and false positives may have been overstated," Beck said.
The study defines sexual victimization as all types of unwanted sexual activity with other inmates, abusive sexual activity with other inmates and both willing and unwilling sexual activity with staff.
Among the survey's findings:
- Just about the same number of former inmates were victimized by facility staff as were victimized by other inmates. About 27,300 - 5.4 percent - reported incidents with other inmates, while 23,300 - 5.3 percent - reported incidents that involved facility staff. Of the former inmates who reported incidents with staff, 6,300 - or 1.2 percent - of the former inmates said they had unwilling sex or sexual contact with staff, while the rest said they "willingly" had sexual contact with the staff member.
Any sexual contact between staff and inmate is officially classified as nonconsensual. Prisons uniformly forbid inmate-staff sexual contact.
- A fourth of the former inmates who were victimized by other inmates said they had been physically held down or restrained, and a quarter also said they were physically injured or harmed during the attack.
- Half of the former inmates who were victimized by facility staff members said they were offered favors or privileges in exchange, while a third said they were talked into it.
- The majority of the sexual victimizations occurred in state prisons: 7.5 percent of inmates reported being victimized at least once there, while 1.8 percent reported incidents in local jails and 0.1 percent in halfway houses or other post-release community-treatment facilities.
- Gay and bisexual men seemed to be by far the most frequently targeted in prison. The survey said that 39 percent of men who were gay and 34 percent of bisexual men reported being sexually victimized by another inmate, while only 3.5 percent of heterosexual men reported incidents. Lesbian and heterosexual women reported incidents with other inmates at the same rates - 13 percent - while staff victimization was double for lesbian women - 8 percent - compared with heterosexual women - 4 percent.
The survey, which interviewed 18,526 former inmates on parole, is representative of 510,800 former state prisoners who were still on parole in the 50 states and the District of Columbia at mid-year 2008.
Posted today at 11:10am
by By The Associated Press
Gov. Sean Parnell has signed into law legislation intended to spur economic activity near military bases.
HB316, sponsored by Fairbanks Rep. Steve Thompson, allows for the creation of so-called military facility zones, where industrial or economic development would improve the base's ability to fulfill its mission.
According to a House Majority news release, funding for the zones may be available from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation or federal New Market Tax Credits.
Funding, credit or guarantee programs could be made available to municipalities and boroughs working on specifically-approved projects within a zone.
Parnell also welcomed home members of the 1-25th Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Wainwright on Wednesday.
Posted today at 10:56am
by By Neil Torquiano
A Palmer teenager was killed after an afternoon crash on the Old Glenn Highway, according to Alaska State Troopers.
AST said the crash happened around 12:16 p.m. Wednesday at Mile Post 12.5 of the Old Glenn Hwy.
According to the troopers investigation, 16-year-old Christa E. Russell, 16, crashed into 39-year-old Jacob J. Fortman, of Wasilla, after not yielding at Bodenburg Loop heading into the hwy.
Fortman was driving a Kenworth dump truck south bound as Russell attempted to head east bound in a Toyota Camry.
Russell was flown to Mat-Su Regional Hospital where she died from her injuries from the crash. Fortman reported no injuries.
Her next of kin has been notified.
Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts and troopers said both vehicles were a total loss.
Posted today at 9:38am
by By The Associated Press
The operator of the trans-Alaska pipeline plans five shutdowns this summer for maintenance work.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. says the shutdowns are expected to last from eight- to 18 hours each, with the first planned for Friday.
Alyeska says the maintenance shutdowns are a critical part of ongoing efforts to ensure the integrity of the 800-mile pipeline.
It says they typically coincide with the oil companies' routine maintenance on North Slope equipment and facilities.
Both Friday's shutdown and one scheduled for May 27 are expected to last eight hours.
The company expects an 18-hour shutdown on June 2.
Alyeska has tentatively scheduled to other shutdowns for July 28 and Aug. 5.
Posted today at 9:31am
by By The Associated Press
The Air Force says people who live near F-22 bases shouldn't see significant changes in how or where the aircraft are flying following new restrictions that will limit how far away from bases the stealth fighter jets can fly.
Officials at Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia issued a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday saying that operational guidance on the flight restrictions will go out to F-22 units over the next several days.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered the restrictions on Tuesday as the Air Force attempts to figure out what's causing pilots in the jet to experience dizziness and other symptoms of oxygen shortages while flying.
The plane is stationed in Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia.
Posted today at 6:51am
by By Rhonda McBride
In just a few hours on Wednesday morning, the state of Alaska made almost $7 million. The source: the sale of Cook Inlet Oil and Gas leases. Ever since oil was discovered in the Kenai Peninsula in the 1950's, lease sales have become a much anticipated event, because it gives the state a snapshot of the industry. As workers with the State Division of Oil and Gas opened the envelopes with bids from producers at the Dena'ina Center in downtown Anchorage on Wednesday morning, many were anxious to see what this year's sales would reveal. There were no surprises on Alaska Peninsula leases that were also up for sale. There were no takers at all. And there haven't been any bids on those leases for a number of years. But on Cook Inlet offerings, 44 tracts were sold, encompassing almost 198,000 acres. The bids brought in $6,865,835, which Tim Bradner, a longtime industry observer, called "modest bidding." Bradner, who writes for business publications like the Alaska Journal of Commerce, says the tracts with the highest bids are near areas with existing production, which suggests that the bidders are not necessarily moving boldly, but proceeding with caution. Also, this year's sales pale compared to last year's, which set a record for the highest bidding since 1999. In 2011, the state sold almost $11 million in leases for about 600,000 acres of land. Even so, Bill Barron, director of the Division of Oil and Gas, was pleased with Wednesday's bids, which he says rank as the second highest Cook Inlet lease sale since 1999. Until recently, Cook Inlet was considered a declining oil field, but now is showing signs of a turnaround. Some like Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, credit the Cook Inlet Recovery Act, which was signed into law two years ago. It provided tax breaks and other incentives to stimulate production. "There's a real lesson for the way we manage the North Slope," said Hawker, who was one of the architects of the legislation. "The Cook Inlet is showing that we can, in this state, create a resurgence of oil and gas development, even in a declining basin." Hawker says he's not disappointed that lease sales dropped this year from 2011. He says the acreage leased on Wednesday marks a different kind of milestone for Cook Inlet oil and gas development. "What we're seeing in the Inlet is a transition from an industry that was dominated by the major players, to one that is dominated by a second tier of more aggressive, more nimble explorers and developers." The three main bidders this year are Hilcorp Alaska, Apache Alaska Corporation and Cook Inlet Energy, which are actively engaged in working their leases, a reassuring sign, says Hawker. "If anything, it's a commitment of these companies to fill out their portfolios, to consolidate their investments." But Hawker is not entirely happy. He says the main goal of the Cook Inlet Recovery Act was to stimulate natural gas production. But instead, companies are more focused on oil. "It's important to note they're really not after gas plays, and that's something of concern to this community -- that we have an adequate and predictable supply of gas," said Hawker, who says the gas is needed to provide Southcentral Alaska longterm energy security. Hawker believes the answer might be to develop an export facility for natural gas in Cook Inlet, to make it easier for producers to market gas beyond alaska, which will give them more incentive to develop the resource. Another shadow on the horizon is a lawsuit filed this week by several environmental groups and the Chickaloon Native Village. It seeks to revoke Apache Alaska Corporation's permit to explore for oil and gas in Cook Inlet. Apache has about 800,000 acres and is one of the largest lease holders. The environmental groups object to Apache's plans to conduct seismic testing to explore for oil. "Seismic testing is basically a series of very loud noises," said Rebecca Noblin, the Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity. "As we're adding more activity to the Inlet, it's putting more and more stress on belugas, and on fish, and on marine mammals." The lawsuit seeks to protect a dwindling population of about 280 belugas. Noblin says that seismic testing interferes with their hearing and ability to communicate, as well find prey. Apache hopes to demonstrate that it can develop its prospects without harming the whales. Lisa Parker, a representative of Apache Alaska, says the company plans to conduct aerial surveys before it operates in the water, to make sure there are no belugas nearby. She says, if whales are spotted, work will come to a halt. Parker says Apache also has observers on board its exploration ships -- on the lookout for belugas and other marine mammals. Cook Inlet oil production does have one thing in common with the belugas. It's been in decline for a long time. "Today, it's at 10,000 barrels a day," says Parker who says that's a fraction of Cook Inlet's historic highs of 227,000 barrels a day. "But we believe it's still to be found. And that's why we're there."
Posted today at 1:58am
by By Samantha Angaiak
Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan discussed the city budget for the next year at a press briefing on Wednesday,. Staffers in the mayor's office said they can't remember a time when the city hasn't lost out on some money from the Governor Parnell's budget vetoes. Mayor Sullivan talked about what Anchorage took away from the state budget. $5 million will go towards The Anchorage Museum, $1 million for the Egan Center, and $2 million for upgrades to the Loussac Library. $5.2 million will go towards the Sullivan Arena parking lot expansion along with building upgrades. The Port of Anchorage received $98.5 million, allowing the revised port expansion project to move forward. Mayor Sullivan said he is pleased with how the Governor handled both the operating and capital budgets. "It really fits in with our philosophy we have put forth both in our bonds and in our request to the legislature. We're really focusing on deferred maintenance and taking care of the assets we already own," he said. The city of Anchorage will get an overall budget total of $377 million for improvements.
Posted today at 1:40am
by By Samantha Angaiak
The Alaska Bird and Farm Animal Rescue, an animal education rehabilitation and petting farm, welcomed a "miniature" addition to their group this spring. Mare, "Star of Bethlehem" gave birth to a colt just over two weeks ago. The newborn does not have a name yet, but he is what some people may consider a miracle. Star birthed newborn miniature horse, "Daddy's Girl" in 2010, but it died after a mauling by two bulldogs. Star's most recent colt is her first baby horse to survive past the first few crucial days. Casey Jones, who runs The Alaska Bird and Farm Animal Rescue said the public is welcome to meet the new little horse. "We just love these little guys and we love to share it with the community," she said. The Alaska Bird and Farm Animal Rescue on East 22nd Avenue will hold a fundraiser open house on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. Currently, the farm is funded through donations and out of the owner's pocket.
Posted yesterday at 9:56pm
by By Dan Fiorucci
In Southeast Alaska, there's a controversy brewing.
A controversy between loggers and fisherman.
Last year, the salmon catch in Southeastern Alaska was the highest in the state, exceeding even salmon-rich Bristol Bay. Something in excess of 15-billion pounds of salmon was caught there in 2011.
That wasn't always the case. In 1967, the salmon catch in southeast commercial fisheries hit a record low, just 215 million pounds.
There are many possible reasons for the low catch, but scientists agree, among those reasons were the logging practices of the time.
In the 1960's, areas like Prince of Wales Island were heavily logged in clear-cuts. Forest restoration was not widely practiced, and it is a known fact that sedimentation and lack of shade can harm salmon spawning streams.
But there were probably other factors as well. Asian vessels that were doing illegal drift net fishing, and possibly pollution factors in the Pacific.
One thing is clear. Logging in the Tongass National Forest was greatly curtailed in the 1990's. The reduction cost at least 6,000 loggers their jobs and devastated the economies of many communities.
Coincidentally or not, in the 1990's the salmon catch in Southeast Alaska went up. And it continued to go way up into the first decade of the 21st century. By 2011, it reached a new record; the biggest catch ever in the Southeast.
Fishermen see a direct correlation between the scaling back of the logging industry and the increase in their catch.
But the largest native corporation in the state, Sealaska, says that with modern forest regeneration practices, logging can coexist with a health salmon industry.
The U.S. Division of Forestry has been conducting experiments and generating healthy second-growth forests in the Tongass just 50 years after old-growth clear cuts were made. The second-generation forests are not as ecologically diverse as the original old-growth forests, but they are a vast improvement over so-called "untreated forests".
Right now logging in the Tongass has been cut back from its maximum of over three-quarters of a billion board feet of lumber, to about 100-million board feet per year.
At 100-million board feet, you never have to touch old growth forest again. All you need to do is re-harvest the second growth forests.
Fishermen love that. Loggers do not. A Southeast Alaska logging industry that used to employ 6,000 to 7000 people now only employs 200.
Sealaska, which owns 3% of the Tongass, would like to see logging nearly triple, to about 270-million board feet.
Fishermen say logging is fine just where it is. In fact, some would like to see it reduced further and more money put into watershed restoration.
Fishing now directly supplies 7,000 jobs in Southeast Alaska, and they feel it would be unwise to risk that.
The controversy is likely to continue. The Division of Forestry plans would technically allow 270-million board feet of lumber to be harvested.
But, in a presidential election year, it seems unlikely that moves will be made to increase the lumber harvest anytime soon.
Posted yesterday at 9:49pm
by By Chris Klint
A Palmer driver was severely injured Wednesday afternoon when her Toyota Camry collided with a dump truck at an intersection on the Old Glenn Highway, according to Alaska State Troopers.
An AST dispatch Wednesday evening said troopers were informed of the collision at about 12:15 p.m. and responded to the scene, near Mile 12.5 of the Old Glenn at its intersection with Bodenburg Loop, along with state commercial vehicle enforcement officials and paramedics.
The Camry's driver and sole occupant, 16-year-old Christa Russell, was flown by air ambulance to an Anchorage hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. No injuries were reported to the dump truck's driver, 39-year-old Jacob Fortman of Chugiak.
Mat-Su Valley dispatchers said Wednesday night that the Old Glenn was temporarily closed during the response to the crash, but was subsequently reopened.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is in progress.
Posted yesterday at 5:36pm
by By Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - Just days before a NATO summit that leaders had hoped would present a carefully scripted display of unity on Afghanistan, the inauguration of a French president committed to an early drawdown has instead intensified a rush for the exits from an unpopular war. In advance of this weekend's summit in Chicago, the Obama administration and senior North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials have been scrambling to ensure that alliance members remain committed to keeping troops in Afghanistan until the end of 2014, and to paying billions of dollars after that to prop up the Afghan government. But that unanimity is in doubt with the arrival of French President Francois Hollande, the Socialist Party leader who campaigned on a vow to withdraw all 3,300 French troops by the end of this year. Hollande's victory sent a shock wave through NATO and sparked a highly unusual diplomatic campaign by the U.S. and other governments to persuade Hollande to reconsider his pledge. Philip Gordon, an assistant secretary of State who is the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that he would park himself in Paris "for as much time as necessary" to try to talk the new French government into changing its mind. Because Hollande reportedly won't announce his decision until after the May 20-21 summit, his presence in Chicago will be an uncomfortable reminder of divisions in the alliance. NATO members "are chafing at the bit to get out" of Afghanistan, Charles Kupchan, a specialist on NATO and former Clinton administration official, told the same Senate committee hearing. The Netherlands withdrew its entire 1,900-troop contingent in August 2010 after widespread public opposition to the Afghan mission helped bring down the Dutch government. Canada downsized to 508 troops from 2,700 in August, and to training from a combat role, after a debate over whether Canada was bearing a disproportionate share of NATO casualties. Australia, which is not a member of NATO, will start to withdraw its 1,550 troops this year, and most will be out by the end of 2013, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said last month. Political rivals said her goal was to allow her party to declare the Afghan mission mostly over before elections next year. In Washington, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta surprised NATO allies in February when he told reporters that the administration wanted to hand off the lead in combat operations to Afghan security forces by late next year, not in 2014 as earlier planned. The goal may mean little in practice, because Afghan troops still rely heavily on U.S. support. But it was a sign that the Obama administration would argue in an election year that it was stepping up its own plans for easing out of the war. American support for the mission has fallen to 27%, according to an Associated Press-GFK poll this month. Even among Republicans, support has fallen to 37% from 58% last year, the poll found. Jorge Benitez, a NATO analyst for the Atlantic Council of the United States, said moves by the Dutch, Canadians, Australians and even the Americans "have really pulled the cork out of the bottle. It could be that more countries will now say, 'We have the leeway to go early.'" Another possibility, he said, is that NATO will work out a face-saving solution in Chicago that allows members to scale back their combat role even while officially agreeing that combat operations will continue until the end of 2014. America provides about 90,000 of the 130,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan. Britain's 9,500 troops form the second-largest continent, followed by 4,900 German troops. NATO and U.S. officials say publicly that the alliance remains committed to maintaining a reduced combat force on the ground until the end of 2014, as the members agreed at the last NATO summit, in Lisbon, 18 months ago. NATO members are pushing a message of unity for several reasons. They hope to convince the Taliban and other militant groups that they are committed for the long term so the insurgents agree to peace negotiations, rather than just waiting until the West leaves. But the message isn't always clear. President Obama is running for reelection on a claim that ending America's role in the war has been one of his top foreign policy successes. Speaking recently at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Obama's deputy national security advisor, Denis McDonough, listed winding down of the Afghan expedition as the administration's No. 2 foreign policy accomplishment, after the end of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. A senior Western diplomat, who asked to remain anonymous in discussing a sensitive subject, acknowledged that the French election and the mixed messages around the globe had stirred "deep mutual suspicions" in the alliance. "People are watching over their shoulders," he said. paul.richter@latimes.com
Posted yesterday at 4:40pm
by By Kathleen Hennessey
WASHINGTON -- At least they agreed on the sandwiches. President Obama and GOP congressional leaders emerged from a lunch meeting Wednesday to report they still don't agree on a strategy for deficit reduction, but the hoagies were tasty. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the president used the meeting, the first since February, to urge House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to take up his short list of legislative priorities aimed at the economy. But the conversation veered into more contentious territory. Carney said Boehner raised the issue of the debt ceiling, a legal limit that will need to be raised before the end of the year to allow the government to continue to pay its bills. Boehner announced Tuesday the House would again refuse to raise the limit without an agreement for another round of significant spending cuts - signaling a possible replay of the August battle that nearly led to a U.S. default. Obama told the speaker he did not want another showdown, Carney said. "And the president's point was we should not hold the full faith and credit of the United States hostage to one party's political agenda," Carney said. The speaker replied: "As long as I'm around here, I'm not going to allow a debt ceiling increase without doing something serious about the debt," according to a Boehner aide. The back-and-forth puts both leaders in nearly the same position as early last summer, before a long and ugly battle, failed negotiations, plummeting approval ratings and eventually a deal that raised the limit in return for spending cuts and another attempt at a larger deal. That attempt later failed. Boehner's office said talk of the debt ceiling fight took up the "bulk" of the conversation, which also included Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. The leaders were served sandwiches from a local hoagie shop, Taylor Gourmet. Obama had held a roundtable at the shop earlier in the day. Carney suggested the discussion, however brief, about the president's "to-do list" was constructive. "The tone was congenial, the discussion was productive, the sandwiches were delicious," Carney said. Boehner's office agreed, saying the speaker "was very pleased" with the sandwiches. kathleen.hennessey@latimes.com Original source: Obama, GOP leaders agree on sandwiches, disagree on deficit
Posted yesterday at 4:26pm
by By Abby Hancock
Multiple sightings of a brown bear in the Turnagain Arm area has drawn a lot of attention-- and that has Fish and Game officials concerned. The young grizzly has been spotted in various places along the Turnagain Arm trail, occasionally next to the road, says Dave Battle, an assistant area wildlife biologist for Fish and Game. He says people have been getting pretty close to it to.
It's something Michael Brown, the McHugh Creek volunteer park host, witnessed a few days ago. He says the bear was close to the highway. Drivers pulled over, and a group gathered to watch.
"People being 20 feet away from a bear and holding a child is not a good thing," says Brown. Fish and Game officials say the bear began huffing and stomping its feet. A park ranger was able to scare it off. No one was injured. Monday night, Brown says two hikers at McHugh Creek were spooked after seeing a brown bear along the trail. Fish and Game believes it to be the same bear seen days before. Warning signs are posted in the area.
Battle says if you encounter a bear, do not run, but try to look big and be loud to make sure the animal knows you are there. But if a bear charges, he says, the proper action depends on the type of bear. If it's a black bear, fight back.
"A black bear is more likely to be predatory and you're more likely able to defend yourself," says Battle. But if the bear is a grizzly, there is a different strategy for survival.
"If a brown bear has made contact, you should cover up, remain still, protect your head and neck," says Battle.
Experts say when venturing into bear country, always carry bear spray, travel with others and be aware of your surroundings.
Posted yesterday at 10:43am
by By Richard Fausset
An autopsy of Trayvon Martin, the black unarmed teenager who was fatally shot by a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer, shows that his body had injuries to the knuckles, while a medical report on the shooter, George Zimmerman, shows that he suffered a broken nose, two black eyes, and cuts on the back of his head, according to a Florida TV news channel and ABC News. What these details, like many others leaked in recent days, will ultimately mean for Zimmerman's high-profile second-degree murder case is unclear, though they could presumably be used by his defense team to bolster his argument that Martin attacked him and beat him up before he was forced to shoot the teenager in self-defense. What they do not seem to clarify is how the altercation between the two men started on the night of Feb. 26 at the gated subdivision in Sanford, Fla., where Zimmerman had been watching the teenager and reporting him to police as suspicious. Zimmerman, according to the Orlando Sentinel, has told police that Martin approached him from behind that night, punched him in the nose, and began beating him up. In a conversation with an attorney for Martin's attorney, and with ABC News listening, Martin's girlfriend recounted her conversation with Martin just before the shooting. She said he told her he was worried about a man following him, and asked the man why he was doing so. A portion of Martin's autopsy results were reported Tuesday night by Orlando TV station WFTV Channel 9. The medical report on Zimmerman was reportedly drawn up the morning after the shooting by a general physician, who also noted that Zimmerman, who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, had prescriptions for Temazepam and Adderall. Temazepam is a sedative and sleep aid. According to WebMD, it commonly causes drowsiness and dizziness, and, on rare occasions, can cause temporary memory loss, depression and confusion. Quitting the drug can result in withdrawal reactions, including shaking and seizures. Adderall, a cocktail of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, is commonly prescribed to help patients suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. WebMD notes that it's "unlikely but serious" side effects include agitation, aggression, mood swings and abnormal thoughts. [For the Record, 11:15 a.m. May 17: An earlier version of this post stated that ABC News reporters listed to the audio of a phone call between Trayvon Martin and his girlfriend the night of the shooting. ABC listened in on a phone call in which an attorney for Martin's family interviewed the girlfriend, who related her account of her conversation with Martin.] ALSO: Snakes on Aisle 3: Man bitten by rattlesnake at Wal-Mart It really is hot in here: U.S. has warmest 12 months on record A thanks for active military and families -- free U.S. park passes richard.fausset@latimes.com
Posted yesterday at 9:29am
by By The Associated Press
Last month's 13-day special legislative session has so far cost nearly $404,000.
Jessica Geary, finance manager for Legislative Affairs, says she expects the figure to rise. Costs are still being tabulated.
Gov. Sean Parnell called a special session for oil taxes and in-state gas pipeline and human trafficking bills.
While the Legislature quickly handled the trafficking bill, Parnell's decision to pull his oil tax-cut from the call led to the Senate adjourning without acting on the pipeline bill.
The House adjourned four days later, after leaders, who'd looked for ways to keep the issue in play, decided they'd be unable to sway the Senate.
Travel, per diem and payroll account for about $399,200 of the cost so far. The rest is laundry, postage and commodities, like food and paper.
Posted yesterday at 3:58am
by By Chris Klint
A text message to an Alaska state trooper in Bethel seeking to illegally buy alcohol led to misdemeanor charges against two women early Wednesday morning, according to an AST dispatch.
Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters says off-duty Trooper Mike Ingram started to receive text messages just after midnight apparently asking to purchase illegal drugs or alcohol. He responded to the texts and arranged a meeting within Bethel city limits.
Ingram was in uniform when he met shortly before 1 a.m. with two Bethel women: the 28-year-old sender of the text messages, as well as a 32-year-old prospective buyer who had also arrived to buy alcohol from Ingram.
Bethel bans alcohol sales, and both women are being charged with license or permit required for alcoholic beverages, a Class A misdemeanor. One of the women brought less than $100 to the meeting, which was seized.
Peters says the women have not been named because the charges against them, which will be forwarded to the Bethel district attorney's office for review, are still pending. Editor's note: This story has been changed to state that the initial text message sought to buy rather than sell illegal drugs or alcohol, after clarification from Alaska State Troopers.
Posted yesterday at 3:46am
by By Jason Lamb
The Alaska Copper River commerical salmon season opener awaits fishermen in Cordova, poised to make a profit on the prized fish they're able to catch, beginning Thursday. It's the season many of the fishermen have been waiting months for, because Copper River salmon is prized by restaurant chefs and fish mongers as some of the best salmon in the world. "The Copper River is a very strong, powerful river, so these fish naturally have to be a stronger animal to fight these currents and get up to the spawning grounds," said Billy Green with Copper River Seafoods. "Naturally, that helps produce a higher oil content, higher fat content and higher omega-3s that a lot of people associate with a healthy product." The opener begins near Cordova at 7 a.m. Weather forecasts call for sun and a high of 50 degrees in Cordova Thursday. Green says the good weather means its fishermen are going to be able to work at a faster pace, setting their nets more, and potentially bringing in more profit. Last year was the third-highest salmon harvest on record, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The department expects similar numbers for this year, including a total run of more than 2 million sockeye salmon and about 54,000 king salmon. Green says over the last three years, there's been an uptick in buyers -- restaurateurs, chefs and fish mongers -- who want to travel to Cordova to see the salmon being caught for themselves. "The end user is becoming a little more interested in where this product is coming from, where their fish, where their proteins or any other food is coming from, relating to the story behind the product," Green said. Contact Jason Lamb. Follow him on Twitter at @JasonLambKTUU for pictures and video of the opener, beginning at 7 a.m. on Thursday.
Posted yesterday at 1:40am
by By Rebecca Palsha And Samantha Angaiak
Typically, an Alaska fire season begins around April 1st and continues through Aug. 31 depending on weather conditions. If the season is particularly dry, they can extend into September. Officials from the Alaska Division of Forestry say until recently, things have been slower than normal in terms of the number and size of fires around the state. This week, however, there have been four wildfires: three in the Mat-Su Valley and one in Anchorage. About two and a half acres have burned. Forestry officials say all four fires were caused by people, although the Anchorage fire is still under investigation. Heavy winter snowfall has delayed the fire season by about two weeks, but with most of the snow gone and dry conditions prevailing, the potential for out-of-control burns has increased. "This is the first week we've started to pick up in activity." said Norm MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Division of Forestry. MacDonald says people getting ready to clean their yards by burning debris need to acquire a burn permit and call the burn-permit recording for their regions before burning. The phone numbers are listed on the division's website. "We have a recorded message that lets the individuals know if it's an open or closed day to burn, and if they follow those guidelines and make sure they call daily, they can do that safely," MacDonald said. MacDonald said if individuals have tall, dead grass they are looking to burn, they should rake it away from the house. To safely burn the debris, people need to give their house 30 feet of clearance from the fire. Officials said the Division of Forestry is able to catch everything with their own resources right now, but will call for assistance from divisions in the Lower 48 if need be. A forestry representative said the division keeps a close eye on the changing weather conditions daily. MacDonald says people should never leave their burns unattended and always make sure they are completely out before leaving the area. "Anything that has people out recreating or burning their yard debris is going to be our hot spot," MacDonald said. "So between the Mat-Su, Kenai and Anchorage is our concern for the week." Email Rebecca Palsha and Samantha Angaiak
Posted Tuesday evening
by By Matea Gold, Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Advocacy groups spending millions of dollars to influence the 2012 election now face the prospect of having to reveal their secret donors, after a federal appellate court panel refused to block a lower-court order requiring the disclosure.
In a 2-to-1 decision issued Monday evening, a U.S. Court of Appeals panel here declined to stay a ruling by a federal judge requiring tax-exempt organizations that run election-related television ads to disclose their donors.
The panel's decision was a significant victory for campaign finance reform advocates who have been fighting against the deluge of money - much of it from undisclosed donors - that has flooded the political landscape in the wake of several Supreme Court decisions, including the 2010 Citizens United case.
"It's the first major breakthrough in overcoming the massive amounts of secret contributions that are flowing into federal elections," said Fred Wertheimer, president of the reform group Democracy 21, one of the groups involved in the case brought by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) against the Federal Election Commission.
"The American people have a right to know who is bankrolling the ads that are designed to influence their votes," Van Hollen said in a statement.
Conservative legal experts argue that requiring disclosure exposes political donors to potential retribution, stifling free speech.
"This is really about incumbent politicians trying to silence voices they don't agree with," election law lawyer Jason Torchinsky said in an interview last week.
It remains to be seen whether the decision will actually force any groups to disclose their donors - many are scrambling to find ways around it. But there is no question that it complicates the political plans of heavyweight players such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerceand an array of well-financed, conservative, nonprofit groups such as Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity that have taken the lead in a costly air war against President Obama and congressional Democrats. Liberal tax-exempt groups, which spend far less on the type of ads in question, will also be affected.
Blair Latoff, a spokeswoman for the chamber, said the organization was disappointed the court was "changing the rules of the road in the middle of an election cycle." The chamber is still reviewing the decision, but plans to continue its outreach to voters "in a way that protects the rights of our members to participate in the political process, free from retaliation and harassment," she added.
Unlike "super PACs," which are independent political committees that must disclose their donors, tax-exempt groups have been permitted to run election-related ads without revealing their backers.
But pending the appeal of the Van Hollen suit, set to be heard in September, groups that run a type of ad known as "electioneering communications" will now have to disclose all of the donations they received since the beginning of 2011, or set up a segregated account to pay for the commercials.
Electioneering communications are television spots that refer to federal candidates but stop short of advocating for their election or defeat and air within 30 days before a primary and 60 days before the general election.
In 2010, outside groups spent nearly $80 million on electioneering, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Because the presidential primaries extend through June and the political conventions begin at the end of August, electioneering rules will be in place for much of the remaining campaign.
The Van Hollen decision still could be delayed or overturned. Two organizations seeking an appeal of the lower court's ruling are expected to request a stay - perhaps from the Supreme Court - to halt the order. But election law experts say there is no guarantee they will be successful, noting that the high court has repeatedly endorsed the disclosure of contributors, including in the Citizens United case.
"The Supreme Court has been consistently upholding campaign disclosure laws, even as it has been striking down campaign limits," said Rick Hasen, a professor of campaign finance law at UC Irvine's School of Law.
Some organizations have indicated that they will craft their ads to avoid triggering the electioneering rule. One such group, American Future Fund, has already asked the FEC whether it can duck the rule if its anti-Obama ads do not explicitly name him in its commercials but refer instead to "the White House" or "the administration."
"I think you'll see electioneering communications virtually cease because no one is going to want to speak under the disclosure regime," said Torchinsky, who represents American Future Fund and the Hispanic Leadership Fund, a group seeking an appeal of the original ruling.
Ironically, some groups may now begin airing more explicitly political ads - ones that call for the election or defeat of a candidate - because those "express advocacy" ads still require only limited donor disclosure.
But doing more direct political spending could threaten the tax status of nonprofit groups, whose political activity is limited by Internal Revenue Service rules.
For now, the court's decision could prompt some donors - particularly corporations - to halt their giving while they wait to see how the case unfolds.
Stefan C. Passantino, an election-law lawyer who has represented Republican officials, said he had been warning clients that they should not count on their contributions to tax-exempt groups to remain anonymous.
"For these companies, the uncertainty is worse than anything," he said. "It's a weird time."
The Van Hollen suit turns on a 2007 FEC rule that loosened the disclosure required of advocacy groups by mandating only that they report contributions earmarked for specific electioneering ads.
Van Hollen's suit argued that the rule undermined the 2002 McCain-Feingold Act, a sweeping campaign finance reform law. A federal judge agreed, ruling on March 30 that the FEC had overstepped its authority.
"Congress intended to shine light on whoever was behind the communications bombarding voters immediately prior to elections," Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in her decision.
Her ruling threw out the 2007 rule and reinstated a 2003 FEC regulation that required organizations doing electioneering to report all donations of $1,000 or more dating back to the first day of the preceding year.
The FEC is not appealing the decision, but the two groups seeking a reversal argue that the ruling infringes on their 1st Amendment rights and will force them to alter their plans for the 2012 election.
In its denial of their request for a stay Monday, the appellate panel noted that the Supreme Court endorsed disclosure in Citizens United.
"The public interest is best served by access to more, not less, information," the appellate judges wrote.
matea.gold@latimes.com
Joseph Tanfani in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.
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