Alaska Ends Plan for `bridge to Nowhere’

By STEVE QUINN – Sep 22, 2007

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Some called it a bridge to the future. Others called it the bridge to nowhere.

On Friday, Alaska decided the bridge really was going nowhere, officially abandoning the project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending.

While the move closes a chapter that has brought the state reams of ridicule, it also leaves open wounds in a community that fought for decades to get federal help.

“We went through political hot water — tons of it — and not just nationally but internationally,” Ketchikan-Gateway Borough Mayor Joe Williams said. “We have nothing to show for it.”

The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island.

Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday the project was $329 million short of full funding.

“We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island,” the Republican governor said. “The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge.”

Palin directed state transportation officials to find the most “fiscally responsible” alternative for access to the airport. She said the best option would be to upgrade the ferry system.

Ketchikan is Alaska’s entry port for northbound cruise ships that bring more than 1 million visitors yearly. Every flight into Gravina Island requires a 15-minute ferry ride to reach the more densely populated Revillagigedo Island.

The town — seven blocks wide and eight miles long — has little room to grow. Local officials have said access to Gravina Island, population 50, is needed for the town and its economy to grow.

They called the state’s decision premature, saying it came without warning.

“For somebody who touts process and transparency in getting projects done, I’m disappointed and taken aback,” said state Rep. Kyle Johansen, R-Ketchikan. “We worked 30 years to get funding for this priority project.”

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, both Republicans, championed the project through Congress two years ago, securing more than $200 million for the bridge between Revillagigedo and Gravina islands.

Under mounting political pressure over pork projects, Congress stripped the earmark — or stipulation — that the money be used for the airport, but still sent the money to the state for any use it deemed appropriate.

Stevens spokesman Aaron Saunders said Friday the senator was interested in how the state ultimately used the money. A spokeswoman for Young said the congressman would have no comment.

Just last month, presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said pet projects could have played a role in a Minnesota bridge collapse that killed 13 people earlier this year.

“Maybe if we had done it right, maybe some of that money would have gone to inspect those bridges and other bridges around the country,” McCain told a group of people in a town-hall style meeting in Ankeny, Iowa.

“Maybe the 200,000 people who cross that bridge every day would have been safer than spending $233 million of your tax dollars on a bridge in Alaska to an island with 50 people on it.”

On Friday, Leo von Scheben, commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, said the bridge money could be used to build roads in Alaska.

“There is no question we desperately need to construct new roads in this state, including in southeast Alaska, where skyrocketing costs for the Alaska Marine Highway System present an impediment to the state’s budget and the region’s economy,” von Scheben said in a statement.

The governor urged Alaskans not to dwell on the bridge.

“Much of the public’s attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here,” Palin said. “But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.”

Source: The Associated Press

Alaska governor: Sen. Stevens’s son should quit RNC

By Elana Schor

As federal investigators zero in on ties between Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and a prominent oil-services company, Alaska’s Republican governor said Wednesday that Stevens’s son — who is also under scrutiny — should step aside from the Republican National Committee (RNC).

GOP Gov. Sarah Palin told The Associated Press that Ben Stevens, a former Alaska state senator who has benefited from Sen. Stevens’s congressional earmarks, should not represent the state while the federal probe into Alaska corruption continues.

In separate court statements, the former chief of oil-services company VECO recently acknowledged offering bribes to Ben Stevens and assigning company workers to help remodel Sen. Stevens’s home in 2000. Ted Stevens’s Senate office has declined to comment on the investigation to avoid any appearance of trying to influence its outcome.

Source: The Hill

Alaska Gov.’s Son Enlists in Army

Friday September 14, 2007 3:31 AMANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The 18-year-old son of Alaska’s governor enlisted in the Army on the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Sarah Palin’s son, Track, will report for basic training next week at Fort Benning, Ga., said the governor’s spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow. Neither he nor family members are commenting on his decision to sign up Tuesday.

The Palin family wants to keep private some aspects of his decision, Leighow said.

Track Palin was adamant about not wanting publicity, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Nagl, the station commander at the Wasilla recruiting office where he signed up. Nagl would not discuss details of the enlistment.

In a statement provided by the governor’s office, Track Palin said he had considered joining the military “for a while now” and that he looks forward “to the challenges that will come as I answer the call and serve my country.”

After training, he could be assigned to any infantry unit in the world, but Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. J.D. Gordon said all infantry units eventually spend a tour of duty in the Middle East.

Track is the oldest of four children, and the only son, of the governor and her husband, Todd Palin. The family lives in Wasilla, about 40 miles north of Anchorage.

Track is a former Alaska All Stars hockey player and played junior hockey in Michigan during part of his senior year, Leighow said.

Source: Guardian Unlimited

Gov. Palin unveils new oil and gas tax plan

Filed from Houston 9/5/2007 3:32:10 PM GMT

USA/ALASKA: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin yesterday unveiled a new oil and gas tax plan for the state following an extensive evaluation of the current Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT) by the Department of Revenue. The evaluation showed the state is expected to receive US$800 million less for the current fiscal year than would have been expected under the actual PPT documentation presented by the prior administration.

The new plan, called Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, or ACES, is a hybrid of a gross and net tax system and includes a minimum 10 percent tax based on gross receipts for the North Slope’s legacy fields with a 25 percent net tax to encourage new development and reinvestment in existing infrastructure. Palin said ACES also allows for tax credits on future work, and it restricts capital expense deductions to scheduled maintenance, while implementing strong audit and information sharing provisions.”In case there is any question on where we stand, let me be clear - PPT doesn’t work as promised,” said Palin. “There are those who would say we should do nothing and that we should continue the PPT experiment. Doing nothing is not an option. This clearer, equitable plan fulfills our state constitution mandate that says I’m to develop our resources for the maximum benefit of all Alaskans.”
Palin also announced the Special Session will be held in Juneau and urged lawmakers to hold oil tax committee hearings and public testimony in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The Special Session is slated to begin Oct. 18.