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Bus mechanics union strikes at Denali National Park |
| 7/2/2009 2:37:08 PM |
By MARY PEMBERTON - The Associated Press
A union representing 16 bus mechanics, radio technicians and warehouse workers at Denali National Park says the employees have gone on strike.
IBEW Local 1547 spokeswoman Melinda Taylor says employees were walking off the job Wednesday afternoon. That occurred when wage and pension negotiations broke down with the employer, Doyon/ARAMARK Joint Venture. The strike was called as the national park prepares for the busy July Fourth weekend.
Doyon/ARAMARK spokesman Dave Freireich said the company immediately implemented a contingency plan. "Service will continue uninterrupted for guests and that is the most important thing here," he said. Freireich said Doyon/ARAMARK's contingency plan involves using mostly nonunion workers as temporary employees to provide bus service to park visitors.
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Judge upholds one-fish limit for Southeast halibut charters |
| 6/11/2009 8:28:25 AM |
by Erika Bolstad - Anchorage Daily News
WASHINGTON -- Anglers who go out on charter-fishing boats in Southeast Alaska will be limited to taking just one halibut a day, a federal judge ruled today.
Charter-boat owners and operators had asked U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer for an emergency injunction to stop the rule from taking effect on Friday, but she denied their motion.
However, Collyer said, the charters may still go forward with their lawsuit challenging the rule that cuts the daily catch limit from two to one, Collyer said. Charter operators last year successfully blocked the federal government's efforts to impose a one-fish limit. |
More - Anchorage Daily News
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Two Princess ships to sail Canada-New England in '10 |
| 6/3/2009 10:05:58 AM |
By: Johanna Jainchill
Princess Cruises will offer three Canada & New England itineraries in 2010, with the Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess returning to the region.
The two ships will offer a total of 15 departures from New York. The Caribbean Princess will sail seven-day roundtrip cruises, and the Crown Princess will sail 10-day cruises between New York and Québec City.
Princess' Canada & New England season will run from Aug. 7 through Oct. 17, 2010. |
SOURCE - Travel Weekly
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Interior’s tourism season looking bleak |
| 6/1/2009 1:59:15 PM |
By Margaret Bauman - Alaska Journal of Commerce
National economic woes appear to be taking their toll on tourism in Alaska's Interior, with Fairbanks hotel operators offering bargain rates as low as $89 a night on Internet Web sites.
"We are cutting rates," said Jay Ramras, of Pike's Waterfront Lodge, who described the tourism season so far as "a disaster."
Pike's summer specials, advertised on the company's Web site, include $109 for double occupancy for Fridays and other specific nights, and special rates for school or sports teams. |
MORE - AJOC
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My turn: Hobart Bay is the wild Alaska tourists expect to see |
| 6/1/2009 1:57:36 PM |
By Bob Martin, Jr. - Juneau Empire
In James McGowan's letter to the editor on May 29, 2009, he said he spent 10 summers in Hobart Bay through the mid-'80s, and that a quick flight there would reveal that "it now looks as though a bomb has gone off over it." I'm not sure what Hobart Bay McGowan is referring to, because the Hobart Bay I'm very familiar with is still full of fish and wildlife living in and enjoying the area. The logged over areas are now covered with extremely healthy new growth, with new spruce and hemlock 20 to 30 feet tall. The roads are hidden in this new growth but the views from those roads reveals scenery virtually unmatched anywhere in Southeast.
It is this Hobart Bay that our investment partners saw and appreciated enough to start planning for a development that was projected to exceed $200 million, and which would provide needed jobs for as many as 400 people. When the $50 head tax was approved, the chairman and CEO of one of the cruise lines stated to his board: "Alaska has sent us a message and the message is Alaska doesn't want us." Within a few months the lease was canceled and the development was indefinitely delayed. This, after spending over 2 million on planning and design of what was to be billed as "Wilderness Alaska."
And wilderness it is. On my last trip just last week, we saw wildlife of several types up close and personal. In season, the streams are full of salmon - and bears that feed on them. It is the wild Alaska that most tourists expect to see when they book a cruise to Alaska. What they get instead are days spent in various ports, and nights cruising from one port to the other. |
MORE - Juneau Empire
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Groups seek to oppose halibut suit |
| 6/1/2009 9:59:30 AM |
By SCOTT BOWLEN - Ketchikan Daily News
A charter-industry legal effort to block a new federal halibut catch limit rule is being challenged by a group of commercial fishermen, seafood processors, subsistence harvesters and small towns in Southeast Alaska.
The group filed a motion Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to intervene as defendants with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and others in the lawsuit filed this past week by six Southeast Alaska charter operators.
The judge assigned to the case likely will rule on the potential intervenors motion on Thursday, according to Linda Behnken, a Sitka-based commercial fisher and chair of the Halibut Coalition who's among the 15 individuals, companies and tribal and municipal governments seeking to oppose the lawsuit.
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Palin red-lights energy funds |
| 5/28/2009 8:21:53 AM |
By Pat Forgey
Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday vetoed portions of the state budget, including controversial federal energy funds that are part of President Barack Obama's stimulus package.
Palin challenged the Legislature to overturn her vetoes, if they disagreed with them.
Legislative leaders had spent much of the session feuding with Palin on stimulus acceptance and other issues, but had reached agreement on almost everything other than the energy funds. |
More - NWCA
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RCL might make Pacific Northwest itinerary permanent |
| 5/28/2009 8:20:37 AM |
By Johanna Jainchill
The Mariner of the Seas' itinerary switch from Mexico to the Pacific Northwest has been such a big hit, Royal Caribbean might put it on the books in 2010.
Royal Caribbean changed the ship’s itinerary earlier this month, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Mexico travel warning due to the H1N1 flu outbreak.
The ship’s new route goes north from its Los Angeles base, visiting Seattle and Victoria, B.C., and either San Francisco or Astoria, Ore. |
More - NWCA
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Wachovia: Carib pricing resilient, Alaska ‘abysmal’ |
| 5/28/2009 8:19:53 AM |
Year over year pricing for close-in bookings has stabilized since January, with trends for third and fourth quarter pricing stabilizing for Carnival but eroding to new lows as of mid-May for Royal Caribbean, according to Wachovia’s latest booking survey.
Caribbean pricing continues to show the most resilience year over year, while European pricing is down double-digits for US-sourced business and down mid single-digits for European-sourced bookings. Alaska pricing remains ‘abysmal,’ said Wachovia analyst Tim Conder in a note to investors.
Wachovia tracks three brands: Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. The brokerage found pricing for Caribbean cruises of under seven days down 15% to 20% for CCL and down approximately 10% for RCL, while pricing for cruises of seven days and longer is down 10% for CCL and down low teens for RCL. |
More - NWCA
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U.S., Canada gear up for new border ID requirements |
| 5/28/2009 8:15:06 AM |
Americans and Canadians heading to the United States from Canada on vehicles or cruise ships will face new entry requirements beginning next week, the Homeland Security Department said.
Americans and Canadians entering the United States will have to show a passport or other identification.
Next Monday, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will begin requiring U.S. and Canadian land and sea travelers to present a passport or other documents denoting "identity and citizenship when entering the United States," according to DHS. |
More - NWCA
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