FYI – Oct. 21

HEA plans power outage
Homer Electric customers on East End Road out to the Russian villages will have a power outage starting at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26. HEA estimates the outage will last about five minutes and asks residents to protect their electronics.

AFN convention starts
The theme is “Northern Dreams: Our Historic Journey Continues,” at the Alaska Federation of Natives 2009 Convention Thursday, Friday and Saturday – Oct. 22, 23 and 24, at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage. The Keynote Address will be delivered jointly by veteran Native leader Willie Hensley and his daughter, Elizabeth Hensley.
From 2 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, members of the Alaska State Senate and the Alaska State House of Representative will hold an official Legislative Hearing (on the public record) regarding the crisis of rural energy.

Special breaks for car buyers
The “Cash for Clunkers” program for new cars has ended, but the IRS wants to remind taxpayers another special break is available. This tax break will allow people who buy a new vehicle in 2009 to deduct the sales and excise taxes they pay when they file their tax return next year.  The tax deduction is available on the 2009 federal tax return even for those who claim the standard deduction.

Begich opens Kenai office
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich has opened two new offices, one in Kenai and one in Ketchikan. Begich hired long-time Alaskan Kim Howard to run the Kenai Office at 805 Frontage Road, Suite 101. Howard moved to the Kenai Peninsula from Anchorage in 1977 and has extensive experience in local government. She worked for the City of Kenai as assistant to the city manager for 25 years.

Tanner crab atrocity
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council received new photos showing high numbers of Tanner crab on a trawl vessel fishing for groundfish. The photos were taken by crew on an undisclosed trawl vessel operating off Kodiak Island last summer.
They reveal a level of wasteful bycatch considerably higher than what has been reported to fishery managers through the standard catch monitoring system.
Over the last five years, Kodiak Island fishermen and Alaska Marine Conservation Council have submitted proposals to the federal fishery body to reduce Tanner crab bycatch and protect sea floor habitat. A letter to federal fishery managers signed by 100 local fishermen was submitted for this meeting once again urging action on crab bycatch.
A problem in Gulf of Alaska fisheries management is a lack of catch monitoring. Vessels from 60-124 feet in length fishing around Kodiak Island are required to carry certified observers 30 percent of the time. This lack of information may have masked a problem in the trawl fishery, which drags gear on the seafloor, catching most crab that it encounters.

Murkowski announces funding
More than $51 million in projects for Alaska has been included in the $33.5 billion Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations conference report, which has passed the full Senate. The Energy and Water Development conference report now goes to the President for his signature. The Homer Harbor is in line to receive $134,000 for harbor modifications and $380,000 for operations.

Murkowski, Begich talk vanpools
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich introduced a bill that would allow providers of public vanpools to use fare revenues to purchase additional vanpool vehicles to accommodate growing demand. Currently, federal transportation law prohibits the use of this revenue for non-federal matching funds in the purchase of new fleet vehicles for vanpools. A program in Anchorage using ride-sharing successfully saved fuel and reduced greenhouse gases into the air, making such systems popular and in more demand throughout the state.

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