Alaska Digest
High wind warningin effect today
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JUNEAU - The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for the Juneau area Sunday that remains in effect until 6 p.m. tonight.
The service had issued a high wind watch Sunday but increased its advisory in the afternoon.
Strong northeast winds were expected with gusts up to 60 mph for downtown Juneau and Douglas through tonight. Elsewhere in the region, wind gusts up to 40 mph in exposed areas were expected.
Today's forecast calls for mostly clear skies and highs around 16, with a wind chill forecast of 20 below this morning. Temperatures in the single digits were forecast for tonight.
Committee opposes restrictions on guides
KENAI - The Kenai-Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee has taken up a variety of proposals concerning guides on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers.
The committee this week voted to support four proposals, but opposed the rest, most of which sought to restrict guides on the two rivers.
The majority of proposals attempted to deal with hydrocarbon levels and boat-wake erosion on the Kenai, as well as crowding issues.
The committee came out in support of a measure to address the problem of guides crowding out non-guided anglers on the Kenai by initiating a limited entry program.
Man convicted in Anchorage shooting
ANCHORAGE - Municipal prosecutors in Anchorage say a man has been found guilty of attempted murder in a shooting downtown last year.
Anchorage district attorney Adrienne Bachman says a jury found Jonathan Anasogak Jr. guilty of attempted murder in the first degree and third-degree assault.
Prosecutors say Anasogak shot his cousin, Michael Sookiayak, in the neck in February 2006. They say he pointed the gun at a citizen as he fled.
Prosecutors say he could face a maximum of 104 years in prison.
Regents mull Yup'ik language degree
FAIRBANKS - The University of Alaska Board of Regents will consider adding a new Bachelor of Arts degree in Yup'ik language at its meeting next week.
The two-day meeting starts Wednesday at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus.
The proposed degree will allow students to pursue advanced study of Yup'ik at the Kuskokwim campus in Bethel. Officials expect up to 15 students to enroll.
Prosecutors say Kott deserves 10 years
ANCHORAGE - Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to put convicted former state legislator Pete Kott in prison for the next decade.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Friday, the government asks for a sentence of at least 10 years, and as many as 12½ years in prison for Kott.
He was convicted in September on charges of bribery, conspiracy and extortion.
In its memo, prosecutors state Kott's actions have "struck a severe blow to the public's faith in the Alaska State Legislature and their elected leaders."
Kott will be sentenced at federal court in Anchorage a week from Friday.
Unemployment tax rate lowest in 28 years
JUNEAU - Next year's unemployment insurance tax rates will be the lowest Alaska employers have paid in the past 28 years.
Gov. Sarah Palin said the tax will decrease for an average employer by 23 percent from this year. She credits a number of factors, including more people working and an increase of $48 million in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance.
An employer in the average rate class will pay about $114 less for each employee than in 2007.
The 2008 unemployment insurance tax rate notices will be mailed to employers next week.
The tax provides benefits as a partial replacement of wages to workers during temporary periods of unemployment.
Police: Anchorage crash kills one man
ANCHORAGE - Anchorage police say one man was killed and two men injured in a two-vehicle motor vehicle collision in midtown.
Police say 37-year-old Trent Knutson of Anchorage, who was apparently driving drunk, sped through a red light in his pickup and hit a car in the intersection.
Police say the crash late Friday forced the smaller car into the parking lot of a bank.
The driver of the car, 43-year-old Jack Boddy of Anchorage, was critically injured.
His passenger was killed.
Police say they aren't releasing the name of the deceased man, who was from Fairbanks, until his family is contacted.
Police say they plan to file charges against Knutson.
Alaska man sentenced for passport fraud
ANCHORAGE - A 37-year-old Anchorage man will spend 16 months in a federal prison after being convicted of passport fraud.
John D. Whitehead, also known as David Brent Centerbury, was also convicted of using another person's identity to obtain Alaska Permanent Fund dividends.
Whitehead was arrested in April on a fugitive warrant from North Carolina, which charged him with a parole violation on a conviction for taking indecent liberties with a minor.
Whitehead had been living in Illinois, Washington, and Alaska for over seven years under the assumed identity of David Canterbury.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Whitehead admitted that he met Canterbury in Illinois and stole his identity.