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Eugene Bottcher, 62, will serve 20 years in jail for the death of Saul Stutz, killed last May while riding his bicycle with his younger brother.

Superior Court Judge Charles Pengilly on Friday sentenced Bottcher to 35 years with 15 years suspended. That's the stiffest penalty allowed under law for the combined charges of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault and failure to render assistance.

"Mr. Bottcher, I would give you more if I could," Pengilly said.

Pengilly also revoked Bottcher's driving privileges for life, but did not confiscate his vehicle, saying he wanted to keep Bottcher's assets available to the Stutz family in anticipation of a civil suit.

Bottcher hit and killed Stutz and narrowly missed his younger brother, both of whom were riding their bicycles along Goldstream Road last May. Bottcher was drunk when he hit Saul with his full-sized pickup, fled the scene and tried to bribe an eyewitness.

In a plea deal in March, Bottcher pleaded no contest to manslaughter, third-degree assault and failure to render assistance.

Judge reinstates civil suit against diocese

FAIRBANKS - A judge in Nome reversed himself and now will allow a civil case involving allegations of abuse by a priest to go forward.

Superior Court Judge Ben Esch in February dismissed the suit against the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese and the Society of Jesus brought by a woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe 2.

After going over motions filed by the attorneys in the case, Esch now is asking attorneys on both sides to set a date to hear arguments between May 30 and June 16.

The woman sued the diocese and the Jesuits, alleging that the two institutions were negligent in protecting her when she was a minor from repeated sexual abuse by the Rev. James Poole, a Jesuit priest and founder of Nome radio station KNOM.

The woman's lawsuit says Poole abused her repeatedly, impregnated her at age 14, then suggested she have an abortion.

Poole was part of the original civil lawsuit, but Esch severed him from the case in December, ruling the woman waited too long to report the alleged sexual abuse.

Senate approves fund for harbors

JUNEAU - The Alaska Senate on Friday approved setting up a special account for the repair and maintenance of aging harbors around the state.

The bill would establish a Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Program but it does not put money in the account.

The bill recommends the Legislature appropriate revenues from the watercraft fuel tax account and fisheries business tax, better known as the raw fish tax, to fund the program. The two accounts totaled a combined $15 million in 2005.

The program would provide a one-time grant of up to $5 million per harbor and it would require municipalities match the amount dollar for dollar.

Bill sponsor Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said the program is designed to encourage municipalities to maintain their harbors by requiring their financial contribution.

"It will break the cycle where the state builds the infrastructure and, for whatever reason, communities allow it to fall apart then come back to the state to rebuild it again," he said.