The Anchorage Park Foundation is seeking applicants who want to make a difference in a neighborhood park or trail.

Have you always wanted to do something to improve your neighborhood park or trail? Does your community garden need some help to grow? Have a great project but not enough funds? Citizens can now apply for an Anchorage Park Foundation Challenge Grant.

The Anchorage Park Foundation challenges you to help us make improvements to our local parks and trails. APF will match $1 for every $1 in cash, materials, or volunteer labor that you can raise for your project. Together, we can improve our parks and public lands.

APF will match money raised, volunteer time and in-kind donations $1 for $1.

Since 2006, APF has awarded 61 Challenge Grants for park and trail improvements throughout Anchorage, featuring a wide variety of projects, including: facility upgrades; garden improvements; art installations; and recreation opportunities. As a result of past APF Challenge Grants, the Anchorage community has significantly revitalized our parks.

APF will be accepting applications until Friday, March 22nd. Two free workshops are scheduled for the evenings of February 11th at Spenard Recreation Center and 27th at Fairview Recreation Center, where applicants will have the opportunity to work with volunteer landscape architects on their applications.

Applications available in English and Spanish. Visit to anchorageparkfoundation.org to download.

The European Free Trade Association decided Iceland did not break the law when it decided not to cover the losses of foreigners invested in a failed Icelandic bank.

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Weekend storms in Australia whipped up several feet of sea foam. There was a close call when one car popped out of the froth and nearly hit people on the road. It's all on video.

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A sociologist argues in a new book that framing obesity as a public health crisis takes a heavy social toll. She says big bodies should be embraced as a form of human diversity, and not seen automatically as a sign of sickness.

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A sociologist argues in a new book that framing obesity as a public health crisis takes a heavy social toll. She says big bodies should be embraced as a form of human diversity, and not seen automatically as a sign of sickness.

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Host Michel Martin looks at the Pentagon's new policy to open combat positions to women with Representative Tammy Duckworth. The Illinois Democrat lost both her legs as a helicopter pilot in Iraq, and currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.

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In anticipation of the next presidential elections in Zimbabwe, the government of President Robert Mugabe is cracking down on civil rights activists. Activists Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams have been arrested nearly 50 times each. They talk with host Michel Martin about why they keep pushing for reform.

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Host Michel Martin looks at the Pentagon's new policy to open combat positions to women with Representative Tammy Duckworth. The Illinois Democrat lost both her legs as a helicopter pilot in Iraq, and currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.

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In anticipation of the next presidential elections in Zimbabwe, the government of President Robert Mugabe is cracking down on civil rights activists. Activists Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams have been arrested nearly 50 times each. They talk with host Michel Martin about why they keep pushing for reform.

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Though stocks took a breather Monday from their recent rally, there are reasons to think they'll continue their upward move in coming months. Money seems to be moving out of bonds and into stocks, corporate earnings are better than expected and economies overseas are getting back on their feet.

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The economy in Sitka – like the rest of the state – appears to have turned a corner. According to the latest quarterly report Trends published by the Sitka Economic Development Association, income and employment are on the way up.

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Read the Sitka Economic Development Association Economic Trends newsletter.

It’s not a totally rosy picture, by any means. There still remains a huge gap between housing affordability and incomes, for instance, and Sitka’s per capita income lags behind the rest of the state. But on several key indicators, Sitka is doing better than it was two years ago.

Garry White is the director of the Sitka Economic Development Association, which publishes Trends. Most notably, there are more people working in Sitka – almost 150 more – than in 2010.

“When that was happening, Sheldon Jackson was closed. We had nothing going on there. The Science Center wasn’t happening. So a lot of this could be some of the development efforts that have gone on with the former Sheldon Jackson campus, increased seafood processing, and a couple of big projects coming on line here.”

When Sheldon Jackson College closed in 2007, an estimated 100 staff lost their jobs. The number of people working on the new campus has not made up that difference, but those that are working are making a difference in the local economy. In addition, sixty fewer people filed for unemployment benefits in the last quarter of 2012 than the two years before, and the local unemployment rate – at 6.1-percent – is almost three full points under the national average.

White says that in working with government data, it’s often easier to come up with numbers than with answers.

Sales tax revenue in the 3rd quarter of 2011 was $2.8 million, just about even with the same quarter in 2012. White thinks Sitkans might be economizing to offset increases in prices, that otherwise might have pushed up tax revenues.

“Food prices have gone up 44-percent since 2008. Fuel’s about the same as last year. Cruise passengers are about the same as last year. There are some inflationary things that suggest that sales tax should be up – but it’s not. It’s fairly even to down just a little bit.”

Sitka’s population has ticked up over the last two years, along with enrollment in schools. Even though cruise tourism is down, Sitka’s bed tax – paid by overnight guests – is up almost $3,000 compared to the last quarter of 2010.

White has mixed feelings about housing prices in Sitka. The average list price of a home last quarter was $383,000, almost $100,000 more than the average listing two years ago.

Rents are on the rise, too. White says SEDA is moving ahead with trying to change Sitka code to allow for higher densities in residential neighborhoods, with the addition of detached garage apartments – also known as mother-in-law apartments. He thinks housing affordability is critical to retaining younger workers.

Personal income in Sitka has not kept pace with the rest of the state, and even lags behind some communities regionally. On average, Sitkans earn about $10,000 less than workers in Ketchikan. White says this is not a new trend.

“Well in 1990, Sitka’s per capita income was $22,000, and Ketchikan’s was $28,000. So we were $6,000 behind them even then.”

White attributes this difference to more high-paying industrial jobs at the Ketchikan shipyard. But he’s not discouraged. He says making up the difference means that there are “opportunities” in Sitka that have not yet been realized.

The nation's official media reports the primate was sent up about 75 miles. It reportedly survived the trip. Iran says it's aiming to launch a manned mission in five to eight years. Other nations are concerned that the program is really aimed at developing long-range missiles.

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Recent update on the dogs-shot-with-arrows case in Haines.

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Haines Police
PRESS RELEASE Haines Police have continued to actively and aggressively investigate the two dogs that were shot by arrows on January 15th. We continue to go door to door talking with residents and following up on every lead that is given to us. This week, we served two search warrants and recovered items related to this incident, including the bow that is believed to have been used. All of these items, along with the arrows previously recovered, have been sent to the Crime Lab for forensic analysis. There are multiple rumors going around town regarding the involvement of specific persons or that an arrest has been made in this case. At this point, no arrests have been made and I do not anticipate an arrest until such time as the forensic examination of the evidence has been completed. We are still encouraging members of the public to call us with any information they may have. Several donors have added to the amount of the reward which now stands at $800.00. The investigation of this case has brought up the possibility that a homeowner was defending his/her property by shooting the dogs. If that is in fact the case, I highly encourage the people involved to come forward and clarify that action. The dogs were shot in the wooded area north of View Street, between Lynnview and 4th Avenue. If there are any homeowners in this area that have seen neighbors outside with a bow, please call the Haines Police. We will continue to pursue this investigation until we can determine without a doubt who was involved and why the dogs were shot. Haines Borough Police 766-2121 Gary Lowe Chief of Police

Join us for Talk Around Town this morning. We're talking about changes to the Alaska Class Ferry project and how it affects Haines and Skagway. 10 a.m. this morning on KHNS.