Alaska Digest
Palin signs new oil tax bill into law
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JUNEAU - Gov. Sarah Palin's oil tax bill is now law.
She signed the bill into law Wednesday, slightly more than a month since the Legislature backed her request to raise taxes on oil companies' profits from 22.5 percent to 25 percent.
The new law could be worth more than $1.5 billion annually to the state depending on the price of oil.
The new law also features a surcharge as the price of oil climbs, but it also allows for tax credits designed to encourage investment into new fields and reinvesting into current facilities.
Palin called lawmakers back to work to review the tax law, which is the heart of a federal corruption probe.
$90 million secured for Denali Commission
ANCHORAGE - Congress on Wednesday approved nearly $90 million for the Denali Commission.
The measure now will be sent to the president for his signature.
The Denali Commission money was secured by Senator Ted Stevens as part of the Fiscal Year 2008 Appropriations Omnibus Bill. Since it was created by Congress in 1998, the Denali Commission has served more than 100 Alaska communities.
The commission's mission is to improve living conditions of rural Alaskans, including better social service facilities, better roads and docks, better solid waste disposal sites and more job training programs.
The commission also strives to reduce energy costs in the Bush.
Klukwan wins grant for heritage center
KLUKWAN - The Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan has won a nearly $2 million federal grant to help build a heritage center.
The $1.8 million grant from the Economic Development Administration will go toward the Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center Hospitality House.
Officials say the project is expected to create almost 60 jobs and generate $4.5 million in private investment.
Alaska Pacific Bank hires new loan officers
JUNEAU - Alaska Pacific Bank recently announced the hiring of two new loan officers, one in Juneau and one in Ketchikan.
Mandy Massey will be a mortgage loan officer with Alaska Pacific Mortgage. She will work with local home-buyers to select the right loan program and guide them through the approval process, the company said.
A lifelong resident of Juneau, Massey was assistant coach and coach of the Juneau-Douglas High School Drill Team from 2001 to 2004.
Justin Williams will work as a loan officer in the bank's Ketchikan office. A lifelong Ketchikan resident, Williams's responsibilities will include consumer lending and business development. He is a graduate of Washington State University and has a bachelor's degree in business management.
Alaska Pacific Bank has operated in Southeast Alaska since 1935.
Man dies in custody at Anchorage jail
ANCHORAGE - Corrections officials say a man died while in custody at the Anchorage jail.
Officials say the man was jailed on a disorderly conduct charge Tuesday night, and died Wednesday morning.
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Anna Herzberger says the man's blood-alcohol level was .302 when he was arrested. He was admitted into a hospital for a short time before being returned to jail.
The man, whose identity hasn't been released, was kept in the jail's medical unit overnight. Herzberger says he seemed fine when served breakfast.
But officials were alerted by another inmate that something was wrong. Officers called for help, but the man was pronounced dead shortly after.
The cause of death has not yet been determined.
Thirteen people displaced by fire
ANCHORAGE - Thirteen people are homeless after a massive fire raced through a Chugiak apartment building on the Old Glenn Highway.
The fire broke out just after 6 p.m. Tuesday.
There are no reports of injuries, but fire officials say the building is a total loss.
Also burned was an attached school bus barn.
Anchorage Fire Department spokesman Tom Kempton says the fire raged out of control for more than three hours as crews worked to get it in check.
Kempton says the work was complicated by the lack of available water.
He says the nearest hydrant was at Chugiak High School, about 2½ miles away.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Stryker Brigade trains for deployment
FAIRBANKS - The commander of the 1-25th Stryker Brigade Combat Team says the unit is training for a September deployment.
Col. Burt Thompson said the unit likely will be going back to Iraq next year, confirming what Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said last week during a visit to Fort Wainwright.
Thompson did not say how long the deployment of the unit formerly known as the 172nd Stryker Brigade might last.
More than 4,000 soldiers are in the unit, which was deployed to Iraq from August 2005 through November 2006.
Twenty-six soldiers were killed during that deployment, and more than 300 were injured.
The unit has been ready to redeploy since June.