Attorneys for the State and two Southeast communities argued in court on Wednesday afternoon on whether the right procedure was followed when drawing up a potential boundary between the municipalities.
The City and Borough of Juneau says that the Local Boundary Commission did not consider their evidence or properly process its annexation petition for contested land between Holkham Bay and Cape Fanshaw.
The LBC argues that they considered all of the evidence when the Petersburg Borough incorporation petition was approved last year, while Petersburg argues that there was already substantial presented evidence which demonstrated their ties to the disputed area.
Here’s a sample of the arguments:
Those are the voices of state attorney Erling Johansen who represented the Local Boundary Commission, Jim Brennan representing the Petersburg Borough, and Amy Mead who is the attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau.
Juneau Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez listened for about an hour-and-fifteen minutes on Wednesday on the CBJ’s appeal of the LBC decision on the Petersburg Borough incorporation petition. He may issue an opinion anytime within the next six months.
Alaska Pacific Environmental Services, operating in Juneau as Arrow Refuse, has asked the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to approve the tariff revision.
Arrow Refuse General Manager Jeff Riley says the process will take 12 to 18 months so the company has asked the commission to allow a portion of the rate to go into effect Oct. 1st.
Arrow Refuse last year rolled out an automated trash and recycling pickup service in Juneau, charging customers for 48 or 96-gallon carts.
But Riley says the company totally misread customers’ needs as they transferred from the old to the new system.
“We thought that if a customer has one can they’re going to go to a 48 gallon and that container is going to be really light, and if they have two cans, they’re going to go to a 96 and that container will be really light,” he said. “We just totally missed what the customers were going to do.”
Riley says the same thing happened with Juneau’s new recycling program. Instead of renting larger roll carts, most customers are using the smaller, less expensive cans.
“We have about 40 percent participation. It’s awesome. Everybody’s jumping on board with it, it’s just a great success. But what it’s done is it’s driven most of our customers to take a 48-gallon container and they’re packing iT. They’re just really, really heavy,” he says.
In addition, disposal costs at Juneau’s landfill, operated by Waste Management, have gone up $10 per ton. Riley says Arrow Refuse was not able to cover its operating expenses last year.
If the regulatory commission approves the interim rate, a 48-gallon roll cart in the so-called Blue Zone downtown would cost $21.05 a month, an increase of $4.26.
Outside the Blue Zone, the smaller cart would cost $3.67 more per month, to $18.12 in October.
Commercial rates also would increase.
Juneau’s proposed increase is one of several the company is requesting across the state, including 4.54 percent in Dutch Harbor, 13.53 percent in Nome, and 24.11 percent in Ketchikan. The RCA is taking public comments online, found at the links provided in this story.
Johan Dybdahl, Icy Strait Point director of special projects, talks about the area’s history as a cruise ship is anchored behind him. Huna Totem Corp. owns the attraction.
Hoonah’s village Native corporation may build its own cruise-ship dock, bypassing a city effort funded by the Legislature.
Huna Totem Corp. executives say it won’t use a berthing facility planned by the city, because cruise lines don’t like the location.
It prefers a different spot, closer to its Icy Strait Point renovated cannery attraction, which brings the ships to town.
CEO Larry Gaffaney posted a letter to shareholders recently saying the corporation will pursue funding and construction of its own pier, without city involvement.
Gaffaney also wrote that the city’s preferred site, called Shaman Point, should be protected for its cultural values. He could not be immediately reached for further comment.
The Legislature several years ago awarded the city a grant – now $15 million – to build a multipurpose dock. Lawmakers said cruise ships would be its main customers.
The state Division of Community and Regional Affairs recently suspended that grant, meaning none of it can be spent.
Director Scott Ruby says the state will take it away entirely, if the city proceeds with its plans.
“Regardless of what the state thinks about whether it’s a good location or a bad location, if the cruise-ship industry is saying ‘We will not use it,’ then there’s a problem there,” Ruby says.
He met with Hoonah officials Thursday. He says there was a good discussion, but no resolution.
Hoonah Interim City Administrator Bob Prunella says his delegation gave the state new research backing its dock location.
“The city feels like it’s (done) lots of study, geo-tech study and wind and waves on all three sites. And this one comes out looking like, by far, a preferred site for an operation like this,” Prunella says.
He says a site preferred by Huna Totem and the cruise lines would face rough winter weather. That could prevent other uses, such as commercial fishing boats or barges.
Prunella remains optimistic, even though there have been no recent meetings with the corporation or the cruise lines.
“We will move forward and see how this pans out. Give it another try, make some more effort. I’d like to see effort on both sides to come to something that everyone can live with,” he says.
Community and Regional Affairs Director Ruby also hopes the parties can come to an agreement. But that has to be soon.
His boss, Commerce Commissioner Susan Bell, recently gave the city of Hoonah notice that it would lose the dock grant if no compromise was reached. The deadline is in a week or so.
Hoonah is 40 air miles west of Juneau. It has around 800 residents, including many Huna Totem shareholders.
Monday (Sept. 2) is Labor Day – the day set aside in both the U.S. and Canada to celebrate workers. It has its roots in the labor union movement. The first Labor Day parade was Sept. 5, 1882 in New York City, organized by the Central Labor Union. Some 10,000 workers paraded around Union Square.
The idea spread across the county and many state legislatures passed bills making it a legal holiday. In 1894, Congress enacted legislation making the first Monday of September the official Labor Day.
While the legislation was signed by President Grover Cleveland, history notes that he signed it to help mitigate the criticism he was getting for sending troops to break up a strike, resulting in 13 dead strikers and more than 50 wounded.
Over time Labor Day parades in the U.S. and big celebrations have given way to the “just-another day-off” mentality and the last weekend of summer.
In Juneau, the Central Labor Council sponsors a community Labor Day picnic at Sandy Beach from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
As many as 7 cruise ships will visit Juneau each day during the busy tourism season.
Every summer, a million tourists pass through Southeast Alaska. It’s a boon to local retailers, who rely on the extra customers to make up for slower winter months. But with lots money being spent, business can get dirty. This spring, the state responded to complaints that onboard shopping experts were misleading passengers and smearing local stores by hitting these programs with a new set of rules. Are the regulations working?
Just about every other store in Juneau’s shopping district sells jewelry. They advertise diamonds and tanzanite, steep discounts and free charms. But a sign on one storefront stands out: “Don’t see us on your cruise ship map??? We’d rather not give your cruise ship a kickback!!”
“We put up that sign because a lot of people were unaware of the gimmicks that were going on the cruise lines …”
Of the half dozen local business owners I talked to about these kickbacks, Mehan was the only who would agree to be quoted. Even then, he wouldn’t let me use his real name, out of fear of getting blackballed by the cruise industry.
Years ago, Mehan used to pay $25,000 plus 10 percent of sales to be part of the cruise shopping programs. The shopping programs are run by media companies, who then pay the cruise lines to have their employees — known as “port lecturers” — on board the ship. These port lecturers are supposed to work like shopping ambassadors, guiding tourists to trusted retailers. But even though Mehan was part of their program, customers were still steered to chains with stronger ties to the industry. So he stopped paying. Then Mehan started hearing troubling things from passengers.
“‘We were told to only go to certain stores because the other stores are people who sometimes don’t sell the real stuff and we are not responsible for it,’ and stuff like that,” says Mehan. “So that’s like a scare factor.
These kinds of complaints got so bad that the State of Alaska started investigating the companies who hire the port lecturers and give the cruise lines a cut of their earnings to have them on board.
Ed Sniffen handles consumer protection for the state, and he says it wasn’t just local businesses who were upset. Passengers were also saying they’d been ripped off.
“‘Hey, I bought this diamond at this shop, and they told me that it was a two-karat something, and I paid $20,000 for it. When I got it back home and had it appraised, it was really only worth $5,000.’ You know, some of those kinds of things,” says Sniffen.
Port lecturers operate on cruises across the world, but Alaska is the first place to crack down on their employers.
In February, the state agreed to a $200,000 settlement with Onboard Media, Royal Media Partners, and the PPI Group — the three Florida-based companies that put port lecturers on Alaska cruise voyages. The companies didn’t have to admit any wrongdoing, but they did have to start requiring port lecturers to disclose that they didn’t work for the cruise lines and that what they were doing was a type of advertising. They were also prohibited from disparaging stores that didn’t participate in their programs and from making misleading statements about sale prices and return policies.
None of the major cruise lines that operate in Alaska — Carnival, Princess, Holland America, and Norwegian — responded to emails asking about their relationship with port lecturers. Royal Media Partners and the PPI Group also ignored interview requests. Only Onboard Media answered questions about the settlement terms.
“[The settlement] simply formalized policies that Onboard Media has always followed,” wrote Noelle Sipos, a spokesperson for Onboard Media, in an e-mail. She added that the company is complying with all of Alaska regulations, but that they’re not applying the state’s rules to other places.
“The program in each region is tailored to support the requirements of the local authorities,” wrote Sipos.
So, are these regulations doing anything? Right now, the attorney general’s office is reviewing about 70 recordings of port lecturers in action, and it looks like filming them is helping. Sniffen says while things aren’t suddenly perfect, most of the feedback on the ground has been good.
“What we’re hearing is that generally things are better. That things have gotten a little cleaner,” says Sniffen. “Passengers aren’t saying the things that they used to say.”
Before Cindy Dollar gets off her cruise ship, she’s given a shopping map, a bunch of coupons, and a tote bag for her haul. She’s vacationing from Texas, and she says there’s serious pressure to spend.
“Yeah, it’s constant,” says Dollar. “I mean if you let yourself, you can be barraged with the whole shopping experience on the ship.”
From what she’s seen, it looks like the port lecturers are following the state’s new rules. They’re putting disclaimers on promotional materials, and reading from scripts that describe their presentations as marketing. They’re still pushy, but at least you know where they’re coming from.
And so far, their pitch doesn’t seem to be working on her. Dollar doesn’t plan on buying from the stores that are being hyped up, and she definitely isn’t thinking about making any huge purchases.
“I plan to bring back a few souvenirs for family and my petsitter,” Dollars laughs.
Owner of Marlintini's bar Ethan Billings shakes hands with bidder Arbe Williams. The two were the only bidders in the auction for Louie's bar on August 21 at Dimond Courthouse. Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO
Abigail 'Abby' Trucano (right) hugs a supporter after winning the auction for Louie's on August 21 as father James Williams looks on in the background. Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO
Arbe Williams pulls out the check used to purchase Louie's after the auction at Dimond Courthouse on August 21. Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO
Buyer Arbe Williams (left) waits as IRS auctioneer Mary Smith and witness Hallie Lipscomb (seated right) finalize paperwork after the auction on August 21. Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO
Arbe Williams (center) receives the certification of sales of seized property from IRS auctioneer Mary Smith (right) with husband James Williams (left) at Dimond Courthouse on August 21. Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO
Updated story at August 22, 2013 at 2:50 pm
A long-time Douglas family has purchased PP’s Douglas Inn, a bar closed down and seized by the IRS. The new owners hope that they can reopen the business in about six months.
Abigail ‘Abby’ Trucano won the IRS auction on Wednesday with the minimum bid of $145,200.
This whole process is new to us. We had no idea what to expect. I can tell you right now that we weren’t going to bid much more than that price. So, we lucked out.”
Nearly a dozen friends and supporters were also on hand at the Dimond Court Building on Wednesday to observe the brief sale.
Trucano and her parents are acquiring a liquor license formally used by the Triple F Bar and Grill in the Mendenhall Valley. She said the next big step is getting approval for transfer of the license to the Douglas premises.
It’s definitely a family bar. We thought it was very unfortunate that it was closed down. We decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to get the bar going again. We just kind of felt like the stars all aligned with finding a liquor license that was for sale and then this auction.”
Trucano’s mom Arbe Williams said they also have to wait out the 180-day redemption period before they have access to the property.
Other than that, we going to be making our plans. Hopefully, as soon as possible, give the town of Douglas Louie’s back.”
The bar at 3rd and D Streets in Douglas was most recently called PP’s Douglas Inn, but is commonly known by its previous name of Louie’s.
Ethan Billings, owner of Marlintini’s in the Mendenhall Valley, registered to participate in the auction. But he did not submit a bid after he saw who else was seriously considering the purchase.
I wanted to make sure it was going to the right person and it seems like it’s going to. Bringing back the old Louie’s like the old days, like everybody remembers. It was a good time, Douglas hangout bar. I used to play softball there, and go up there, and have a bunch of beers and stuff. I’ve known the old Pusich family forever and I’d hate to see it go. I want to see it back in its old form.”
It’s definitely a family bar. We thought it was very unfortunate that it was closed down. We decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to get the bar going again. We just kind of felt like the stars all aligned with finding a liquor license that was for sale and then this auction.”
Nearly a dozen friends and supporters were also at the Dimond Courthouse on Wednesday to observe the brief sale.
Trucano and her parents are acquiring a liquor license formally used by the Triple F Bar and Grill in the Mendenhall Valley.
Trucano’s mom Arbe Williams says they’ll have to wait out the 180-day redemption period before they can have access to the property.
Other than that, we going to be making our plans. Hopefully, as soon as possible, give the town of Douglas Louie’s back.”
The bar at 3rd and D Streets was most recently called PP’s Douglas Inn, but it is commonly known by its previous name of Louie’s.
