May 08, 2008

Nome Weather

Front Page • 9th Circuit denies new hearing on Rock Creek mine • Port to see new tariffs, harbormaster • Campaign leads Begich to Nome Page 2 - Opinion / Local • Editorial • DOT works to clear roads • Tadda takes Port of Nome helm • Weather Statistics Page 3 - Local • Begich - continued from page 1 Page 4 - Local • Court - continued from page 1 • Port - continued from page 1 Page 5 - Local • Wind cuts power costs in Shaktoolik • Former Nomeite honored as VPSO Page 6 - Local • Nome JROTC says 'aloha,' competes well in Hawaii • Wind - continued from page 5 • VPSO - continued from page 5 Page 7 - Education • FY09 general fund school budget passed • EPA proposes stronger lead regulations

Page 8 - Prom 2008 • Prom ‘08 goes Hollywood Page 9 - Local • It's beginning to look like spring in the sub-Arctic Page 10 - Local • High blood pressure — The silent killer Page 11 - Regional • Fire burns down home in Wales • Haze over Alaska is from Russia Page 12 - Local • All Around the Sound Page 13 • Employment • Seawall • Real Estate • Legals • Obituaries • Trooper Beat Page 14 • More Obituaries • More Sound Page 15 • More Sound - continued from page 14 • Court • Serving the Community of Nome Page 16 • Serving the Community of Nome

9th Circuit denies new hearing on Rock Creek mine

By Diana Haecker
A panel of three 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges last Wednesday denied Bering Strait Citizens for Responsible Resource Development's request for a rehearing of their case en banc, meaning before the full membership of the court.

BSC, a Nome-based citizen group, and individual plaintiffs Sue Steinacher and Jana Varrati through their attorneys at Trustees for Alaska requested the rehearing. The request came after the 9th Circuit's Court of Appeal's Jan. 3 opinion affirmed the validity of the wetlands permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Alaska Gold Company's new hardrock gold mines at Rock Creek and Big Hurrah.

The plaintiffs had challenged the Corps' decision to issue a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit that allowed the gold company to destroy 346.5 acres of wetlands in the Snake River valley, seven miles north of Nome.

The lawsuit, first filed in November 2006, resulted in a voluntary withdrawal of the permit by the Corps. The permit was re-issued in March 2007 without any public involvement. The plaintiffs then filed a second lawsuit to again challenge the permit.

District Court Judge Ralph Beistline dismissed the lawsuit entirely last summer, and the plaintiffs filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In September 2007, a three-judge panel consisting of Andrew Kleinfeld, Ron Gould and Betty Fletcher, heard oral arguments and issued a ruling in January 2008 that upheld the Corps' permit. continued on page 4

Port to see new tariffs, harbormaster

By Sandra L. Medearis
The Port of Nome is setting up for increased commerce from Bering and Chukchi seas activity with revised port rules and charges as well as an extensive construction season for upgrades. The rules will be implemented by a Nome Common Council ordinance.

The reworked port tariff, a template for operating the port as a doorway and temporary storage area for products and supplies to go in and out, came in final draft before the Nome Port Commission May 1 and got unanimous approval.

These changes to wharfage rules will increase revenue and safety. Construction projects will upgrade the port user's experience and improve navigation.

Port of Nome includes the Small Boat Harbor and turning basin, the docks where the fishing fleet unloads seafood, storage and East Dock on F Street, port industrial pad above and to the west of the Snake River power plant, and the long causeway stretching hundreds of feet into Norton Sound. This year the port had an operating budget of $3.5 million.

Highlighted changes increase fines for misusing port facilities, while other changes build in length of notices required for port services and clarification of some charges in dockage, wharfage and storage fees. Additionally, the tariff tightens security for sensitive port areas according to federal rules. Other regulations clarify charges for port usage and expand regulated areas to include new port footage at South Dock, stemming from filling the jetty and changing the port configuration around the Snake River.

Port commissioners and new harbormaster Frank Tadda continued on page 4

Campaign leads Begich to Nome

By Diana Haecker
Nome Democrats gathered April 29 to welcome Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, 45, to Nome and to give him an earful of what is important to people in bush Alaska should he be successful in his bid to de-throne U.S.

Sen. Ted Stevens in this fall's elections. Begich recently announced his intention to throw his hat in the ring to represent Alaska in the U.S. Senate. When participating in a meeting of mayors in January, Begich was summoned to Washington, D.C., by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who pressed Begich to run this year against Stevens.

Stevens has been a senator since 1968. Begich told the Nome Democrats that he heard overwhelming testimony that a
change in the Alaska congressional dele- continued on page 3

ON THE LOOKOUT — Charlie Lean takes in the view from the high point on Sledge Island Sunday. Favorable sea ice conditions and some aerial scouting from a friend encouraged Lean to find a partner and ride his snowmachine out to the island. Photo by Tyler Rhodes