Empire editorial: Thumbs up to free taxi service; down to Exxon
Thumbs down:
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• To the Juneau Assembly and the Southeast Alaska Avalanche Center for being unable to find a compromise on how to keep the center open and funded in 2008. The nonprofit organization requested $156,000 for services that let residents know when avalanche danger was high. The city budgeted $50,000, $10,000 more than last year, but it was not enough to meet the center's demands.
The center received a $15,000 grant to help with costs, but it did not have another subsidy from Kensington Mine such as the one that helped defray costs last year.
Thumbs up:
• To Dixie Hood, for her activism regarding the Secon truck scale near Lemon Creek. Hood appealed the city's decision to grant an "after the fact" variance to Secon, allowing the company to operate a scale that was violating the city's land use code by being too close to the creek.
The scale is part of the important Sunny Point traffic project on Egan Drive, and city officials did not want to hamper the project. But the way the variance was granted raises questions about the effectiveness of the city's land use code.
Thumbs down:
• To proposed changes to the interpretation of maritime law that could require foreign-flagged, Juneau-bound cruise ships to spend at least 48 hours in a Canadian port. The changes could cost the local economy as much as $68 million, city officials said.
The changes were requested to address a cruise ship question in Hawaii, and Alaska leaders said they would try to keep any changes from affecting Alaska.
Thumbs up:
• To Juneau drivers, police and the companies that provided free taxi service on New Year's Eve. The city saw only one drunken driving arrest on a night with stepped-up patrols. Juneau drivers were careful, at least in part because of the patrols, and the free cab service was a big help.
Thumbs down:
• To Senate Minority Leader Gene Therriault for asking Anchorage Sen. John Cowdery to step down because he was implicated in the VECO bribery scandal. Cowdery was one of six state legislators whose offices were searched by the FBI in August 2006. Cowdery has not been charged with a crime, so the Senate minority's action seemed premature. Cowdery, however, should not be leading committees at this time.
Thumbs up:
• To Jennifer Jimenez, the 10-year-old girl who reported that a fire was burning Wednesday in a home in Sprucewood Trailer Park. Her actions may have prevented the fire from spreading or causing injuries.
Thumbs up:
• To Juneau resident Ronald Haffner, who donated a maul, bowl, grinder and carved stone seal head to Sealaska Heritage Institute in December.
The items, which will be displayed at Sealaska Plaza after further study, were unearthed in Auke Bay in the 1930s. The cultural treasures were handed down through Haffner's family. He made the donation to honor his late mother, Edith Trambitas.
Thumbs down:
• To Exxon Mobil corporation for continuing to battle a $2.5 billion punitive damages verdict for an oil spill that marred 1,200 miles of coastline in Prince William Sound 18 years ago. The company said it should not be responsible for the actions of Exxon Valdez tanker captain, Joseph Hazelwood.
With oil prices touching $100 per barrel this week, it's hard to drum up sympathy for a company whose oil caused so much damage to our state - even if the company puts all the blame on its employee. Pay up, Exxon.