- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The rig manager aboard a Royal Dutch Shell PLC drilling barge says a second tug could have prevented it from running aground in December off a remote Alaska island. Todd Case was the offshore installation manager employed by Noble Drilling when the Kulluk ran aground off a small island near Kodiak Island on a tow across the Gulf of Alaska toward Seattle. Case in the third day of testimony before a Coast Guard investigation panel recounted how weather got progressively worse after the Kulluk departed Dec. 21 from Dutch Harbor. The line between the towing vessel Aiviq and the Kulluk parted Dec. 27. Multiple attempts failed to maintain replacement lines. Case says looking back, multiple tugs as part of the original towing plan could have prevented the grounding.

 

- FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - A University of Alaska Fairbanks professor is disputing the claim that this year's Nenana Ice Classic culminated with the latest river breakup in its 97-year history. The Tanana River ice moved at 3:41 p.m. Monday. The game of guessing when the ice will move officially uses standard time, not daylight time, so the winning time was listed as 2:41 p.m., breaking the record of 11:41 a.m. AST set May 20, 1964. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says forest ecology professor Glenn Juday notes that 1964 was a leap year. That means the ice moved on the 141st day, compared with the ice moving this year on the 140th day. Ice classic manager Cherrie Forness says leap year doesn't matter because the game goes by the Gregorian, not Julian, calendar.

- BETHEL, Alaska (AP) - Two dozen Kuskokwim River fishermen on trial this week for illegal fishing have been found guilty by a judge in Bethel. The fishermen's attorney, James J. Davis Jr., says he will appeal the convictions issued by Monday through Wednesday by Magistrate Bruce Ward. Davis says one of the 25 fishermen is in Hawaii and his case will be heard later. The subsistence fishermen were cited last year during a poor king salmon run. They argued they have a spiritual right to fish for king salmon when restrictions are in place.  KYUK says Ward found the state's need to restrict kings supersedes the fishermen's religious rights. Ward imposed $250 fines for all but one fisherman, who was fined $500. The trials began in April with specialists on Yup'ik culture. 

 

- FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - The flooding situation in the community of Fort Yukon continues to unfold. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that a portion of a massive ice jam on the Yukon River upriver from the town broke early Wednesday morning. Forecasters have been keeping an eye on a large amount of water behind an ice jam 12 miles upriver from the community 145 miles northeast of Fairbanks.  Fort Yukon police Sgt. Peter Hawbaker told the News-Miner that other than some ice Tuesday night and early Wednesday, water levels have not changed since dropping after minor flooding on Monday. Some low-lying areas of the town with more than 580 residents are flooded including an access road to the airport.

- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A former Anchorage police officer allegedly used a state database to look up confidential information about a woman he arrested and then tried to get charges against her dropped. According to charging documents 25-year-old Mark Moeller befriended the woman and had sex with her, and then urged a city prosecutor to drop the charges. Moeller also is accused of burning a report from Alaska State Troopers about the woman and her ex-boyfriend. It is against the law for police to use the state database for personal reasons. Moeller resigned in February.

- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Fire investigators in Anchorage are asking for help in solving a suspicious restaurant fire. The Anchorage Daily News reports the Sunrise Grill and Pancake House suffered about $1 million in damage on May 11. Whether it's a total loss will be determined by the insurance carrier and business owner. Anchorage Fire Dept. spokesman Al Tamagni says in a statement that evidence found at the scene leads investigators to believe there was a burglary at the restaurant before the fire. They are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 561-7867 or the arson hotline at 267-5060. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest on felony charges.