Empire Archives is a series printed every Saturday featuring a short compilation of headline stories in the Juneau Empire from archived editions in 1984, 1994 and 2004.
This week in 1984, the Juneau City-Borough Assembly will cancel the existing contract for downtown’s uncompleted parking garage and tourist facility, purchase the designs for the project, and put it out to competitive bid. These decisions were made Wednesday night after a three-hour public meeting and a brief closed-door session of the Assembly. City officials plan to meet with the project contractor and engineers today, but how much Wednesday’s decision will cost the city is unknown, said Kevin Ritchie, assistant city-borough manager. The tone of Wednesday’s meeting was somber, as Assembly members and a vocal audience discussed the recent court decision to halt construction on the nearly half-completed parking garage, which also would have extended the city’s Marine Park along Marine Way. Construction under the city’s contract with Kiewit Construction Co. was halted Friday by court order, pending the conclusion of a suit filed by Betty “Belle Blue” Breck, who has been described as a citizen’s advocate and claims the city used an illegal bidding process when it sought a designer-contractor for the project last spring. Those accusations were the subject of discussion between Breck and other residents, and rebuttals from city officials, during the Assembly meeting. Breck objected to the rebidding decision, arguing it would give Kiewit “a very strong advantage” in the bidding process since it is most familiar with the current design.
Original Story: “Parking garage contract to be canceled, rebid,” by Betsy Longenbaugh. 8/29/1984.
This week in 1994, the Tlingits reached into their past for an old Indian cure for crime when they ordered the banishment of two boys who admitted they got drunk and mugged a pizza deliveryman. The teenagers are to spend the next year to 18 months on separate, remote islands with the hope of breaking the cycle that traps too many young Alaska Natives today: alcohol, crime and prison. Now comes a long wait to answer the big question: Will it work? The first Tlingit tribal court hearing of a criminal case in at least a generation ended Friday night when the sentence was read to the 17-year-old defendants in a bingo hall-turned-courtroom in Klawock. In an unprecedented move a Snohomish County, Washington, Superior Court judge last month referred the case to the tribal court. He reserved the right to sentence the boys to prison later if they fail to complete the banishment successfully. The lead tribal judge had announced Friday night that Adrian Guthrie and Simon Roberts would be taken immediately to the islands, but instead were held overnight in a fishing boat docked near an old cannery in Klawock.
The case was publicized internationally, but the judge cut the banishment short in 1996 due to reports of unauthorized visits by the teens to town, and visits to their isolation sites by media and family members. The judge cut the banishment short in 1996, sending both to prison. Guthrie, who lived in Juneau after his release, would be arrested multiple times in future years, including incidents involving setting off dynamite in a motel room and pressing a gun to the head of a sleeping teenager.
Original Story: “Tribal justice banishes teens,” by Brian S. Akre. 9/4/1994.
This week in 2004, the state of Alaska is urging community and religious groups to apply for federal grants promoting marriage. President George W. Bush’s Healthy Marriages Initiative was established in 2002 with the goal of promoting marriage and providing couples access to marriage education services. Funding for the program in Alaska totals $500,000 and will be doled out by the state Department of Health and Social Services in grants of up to $50,000. “Healthy marriages are the foundation of our society and this funding will provide many tools to Alaskans to improve their ability to enjoy a successful future together with their families,” social services Commissioner Joel Gilbertson said in a prepared statement. A national women’s advocacy group says the $1.5 billion federal program is a waste of taxpayers’ money and a pork-barrel project for right-wing religious organizations. “This administration has decided that the solution to poverty is just to marry off all the poor women,” said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. Gandy spoke from a cell phone in New York City Wednesday after giving an abortion rights speech during a protest of the Republican National Convention. “A good use of this money is giving poor women the skills and education to be self-supporting and self-sufficient to take care of their children,” Gandy said. She added that it is not the government’s job to promote marriage: “That goes without saying, especially with an administration that says government should keep its nose out of people’s business.” Bob Buttcane, coordinator of faith-based community initiatives for the state, said the program is not intended to persuade couples to marry if they’re not ready. Buttcane also is an ordained minister for Unity church of Juneau but said his status as a religious leader is separate from his state job.
Original Story: “Alaska awarded $500,000 grant to promote marriage,” by Timothy Inklebarger. 9/2/2004.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
