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Retired publisher dies at 83
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – He wrote columns for one of the smallest newspapers in the state – the Ketchikan Daily News – but Lew Williams Jr.'s reputation for a strong editorial voice commanded the respect of lawmakers in Juneau and Washington, D.C., and university leaders in Fairbanks.
A retired publisher who continued writing columns until a few weeks ago, Williams died Saturday of cancer at age 83, bequeathing an editorial voice so memorable that U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens planned to speak of his friend on the Senate floor Tuesday.
Williams son, Lew Williams III, said his father had been feeling ill since fall but didn't get his diagnosis until a few weeks ago. He died while vacationing in Arizona a few days after he had been scheduled to go home to Ketchikan.
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Race for House heats up
With the Republican Primaries looming at the end of summer, candidates are hitting the campaign trail to win votes and discuss important topics with the people they want to represent. Fresh from a 90-day legislative session in Juneau, District 2 Representative Peggy Wilson (R-Wrangell) traveled to Petersburg this week to take part in a local fundraiser.
She had plenty to talk about after completing several projects during the session. Topping her accomplishments was a bill that created a board to oversee the Alaska Marine Highway System. Wilson said that previously the board had met at the governor’s leisure. “In the past, it had to be done by executive order by the governor. It only lasts so long and then you have to do it all over again. This year, we were able to get it into statute, so now it’s an ongoing thing and there will always be a board whose only agenda is making sure the ferry system runs smoothly and is taken care of.”
Wilson was also instrumental in a controversial bill that hid the private information of people filing for workmen’s compensation. Previously, their social security numbers, telephone numbers, and addresses became a matter of public record when they filed a claim. That led “ambulance chasing” law firms to exploit the injured workers, according to Wilson.
Family members think
Manor rent should be lower
Rent increases at the city-run assisted living facility at Mountain View Manor was a topic of debate at Monday’s city council meeting as family members of the facility’s current residents testified before the city council. Both Barry Bracken and Kris Norris came before the council to request they take another look at the rent increases. Twelve assisted living units are currently offered at Mountain View Manor, but four of them must be used for low-income residents as part of the requirements for a grant the city received to pay for construction costs.
“Why should the eight self-paid units be responsible for paying the debt load for the entire facility?” Bracken asked the council. “I mean, if the city entered into a negotiation with Alaska Housing Finance to provide four low income units within that facility, why are we shifting the debt load to the eight that are able to pay?”
City Manager Rich Underkofler reminded Bracken that the increases wouldn’t cover the entire debt load of the facility. The City of Petersburg would also be subsidizing the facility from its general fund. “The taxpayers of Petersburg are kicking in another $200,000 to subsidize the place even with this rate increase,” he said,“for eight units.”