The Alaska Marine Highway System is developing a feasibility study to determine whether the M/V Susitna, a 195-foot experimental icebreaking ferry owned by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, could fit into the ferry system’s operations, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities acknowledged Monday.

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Kramer told students that tap dancing is like having a conversation — you say something and the other person responds. (Photo by Anne Brice/KCAW)

The Sitka Jazz Festival brought some of the world’s greatest musicians to Sitka last week. Along with performing in nightly concerts, artists also visited schools and conducted workshops, from basic jazz theory to learning the art of improvisation.

On Friday, Katherine Kramer tap danced and taught basic rhythm to students at Baranof Elementary School and Tom Scott played songs like, Toy Story’s “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” for a gym-full of kids at Keet Gooshi Heen.

This is the first of a series of audio postcards that take a behind-the-scenes look at the 2013 Sitka Jazz Festival. In this, Kramer and Scott discuss what sparked an interest in jazz and how it feels to perform.
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Local and state disaster response teams powered up emergency communications systems in Sitka this weekend, testing the compatibility and coverage of their two-way radio systems. The Alaska National Guard brought equipment to keep radios working for police, fire, and mountain rescue teams even if local antennas are lost. Sending a portable system to the top of Harbor Mountain enables continued communication with outlying communities as well.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, rolled out an energy report she said has been a year in the making in a speech to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in Washington, D.C., Monday.

Murkowski’s report, entitled “Energy 20/20: A Vision for American’s Energy Future,” calls for federal action to partially open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, invest in research and development for clean energy technologies, and speed up the permitting process for certain types of development, among other actions she said will improve the United States’ energy picture.

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A snowy owl spent part of Monday afternoon perched on the rocks near Petersburg’s Middle Harbor.

A Sitka woman will spend about another year in jail for her involvement with methamphetamine. Sitka Superior Court Judge David George sentenced 45-year-old Tina Bettencourt to 22 months in prison for third degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.

Bettencourt has been in jail since November 2011. She was charged after a drug bust two months earlier at her home in the 1500 block of Johnston Street. Police found guns, cash and a variety of drugs including meth, cocaine, heroin and assorted prescription medication.

Bettencourt’s sentence is 22 months, but that includes the time she’s already spent in jail. She has less than half her sentence left to serve. Originally, she faced seven drug-related counts, but the other six were dismissed.

The drug bust that led to Tina Bettencourt’s arrest also included her husband and son. Charges in the drug case against 23-year-old Jeffrey Bettencourt were dismissed, but the he did plead guilty last week to assault in connection with a 2010 case.

45-year-old Christopher Bettencourt’s case is still pending before the court.

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Lawyers argue merits of Sitkans for Responsible Government initiative. Forest Service to hold TLMP review, take public input in Sitka. Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduces legislation to build 18-miles of road to mines in roadless areas of POW. Remembering Kake elder Clarence Jackson.

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Diane Gubatayo from Women in Safe Homes joined us to talk about the Women of Distinction Dinner on Saturday, February 9 at the Ted Ferry Civic Center. WISHinterview242013

This is the time of year many commercial fishermen get a voluntary safety inspection from the coast guard in Petersburg. Vessel examiners typically come to town every February, shortly before the start of the tanner and golden king crab seasons. The free dockside inspection gives fishermen an opportunity to make sure they have all the safety gear and other required items that the coast guard normally checks for during an at-sea boarding.

Petersburg’s fleet is known for extensive participation in the program and several people have signed their boats up for safety inspections this week, including KFSK’s Matt Lichtenstein. He asked Coast Guard Commercial Fishing Vessel Examiner Scott Wilwert for a preview:

For a mobile-friendly mp3, click here

The Coast Guard’s Scott Wilwert and his colleagues will be available to do dockside exams in Petersburg Wednesday through Friday of this week. To sign up, you can stop by the Harbormaster’s office or call 772-4688. The safety-checklist generator and other information can be found here.

Peter Jensen from the Southern Southeast Alaska Technical Education Center spoke to us about the Safe and Competent Worker Series beginning on February 11. seatecinterview242013

HOMER — What does a pink-haired, tattooed, ear-pierced, outspoken, former hairstylist, current college student, 20-something single mother of twins from the central peninsula have in common with a soft-spoken, married, former nurse, current Homer author with sometimes evident strands of gray hair that hint at her age have in common?

Not much unless you’re talking about Maggie Winston of Kenai and Marianne Schlegelmilch of Homer. When it comes to these two women, you don’t have to look too far beneath the surface to discover a strong connection.

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KENAI — Sheer concentration. Pursed lips. Deep breaths. Without blinking, the 16-year-old girl stared through the sealskin ball hanging 56 inches above the gym floor.

She didn’t see the people gathered in the bleachers; she didn’t feel the stares of her peer athletes circled around — there was just the spinning, striped ball.

Then she vaulted forward, kicking two straight legs up, bending her chest and head forward and stabbing her feet just shy of the ball.

She landed on her heels and staggered backward.

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JUNEAU — The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is opposing a bill that would change how Alaska regulates cruise ship wastewater.

The council represents about 28,000 people. In a letter that was being distributed to lawmakers Friday, the council said the proposal would lower water quality protections and the proposal wasn’t based on the best available science.

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JUNEAU — Gas, guns and oil taxes are among the highlights on this week’s legislative agenda. Here are three things to watch for:

Guns

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FAIRBANKS — An employee has been accused of embezzling more than $12,000 from the nonprofit organization that owns Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that 40-year-old Shelly Lee Comried has been issued a court summons to face a charge of second-degree felony theft.

According to the criminal complaint, Comried is accused of linking her personal bank account to an Internet-based payment account that the Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation uses to receive charitable donations.

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CHUGIAK — Chugiak Cafe is entirely a family-run business.

Eagle River’s Tom and Michelle Kimball own the recently opened coffee and boutique shop and their two-person staff is made up of their kids, Jackie and Andrew.

Jackie, a sophomore at UAA, runs the cafe with her dad weekdays and takes class in the evenings. Andrew, a freshman at Eagle River High, helps out after school.

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The Sitka Jazz Festival concerts started Friday, Feb. 1, and some artists visited elementary schools, where they performed and candidly answered questions like, “Do you have your own CD?”, “What’s your favorite instrument?”, and “How much money do you make?”

Katherine Kramer tap danced and taught basic rhythm to students at Baranof Elementary School and saxophonist Tom Scott played some songs, like Toy Story’s “You’ve Got A Friend In Me,” for a gym-full of kids at Keet Gooshi Heen. The jazz pros share a few words of wisdom this audio postcard.
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Juneau will have some special events going on next month to mark the Alaska Legislature’s 100th anniversary.

The Alaska Legislative Centennial Commission met Friday to discuss plans for the centennial, for which a roster of all members to have served in the Territorial Legislature and State Legislature, as well as an accompanying website, is being prepared.

Members of the commission also discussed local events that could be held during the first week of March.

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The communications coordinator for the Capital City Republicans praised outgoing Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich Friday and said the ouster of the party’s chairman-elect by its executive committee late in the week appeared to be for a good reason.

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