John Overall, Lori Stevens, John
Murnan with sports and Jackie
Purcell with the weather.
This is the Channel 2 News Late
Edition.
Good evening, neighbors battle
over noise tonight.
Noise created by motorized
racing.
The Anchorage Racing Association
is asking the Anchorage Planning
and Zoning Commission tonight to
rezone a plot of land near
Minnesota and International
Airport Road.
The ARA wants year-round motorized
racing on that property, but
area residents don't want the
noise that goes with the
racetrack.
Tonight, both sides voiced their
opinions.
Some living in the area say a
racetrack will hurt property
values, but the ARA held its
first race back in October saying
motorized racing will help keep
troubled teens off the streets.
But a group of concerned
homeowners don't want the
racetrack in their backyard.
I was home in October when they
were having the race and you
could hear the noise inside the
house in the basement.
The amount of noise that was
being generated was really not
acceptable for a residential
area.
First of all, we're not in any
in a residential area.
We're quite a ways from it.
And as you can hear from all the
testimony, there's railroad,
there's planes, there's trucks,
there's cars.
And let's be reasonable about
this.
It's only one night a week.
And like we heard testimony
tonight, lawnmowers were on
later than that in the summertime.
Public testimony is still being
heard at this hour.
The Anchorage Assembly is
scheduled to address the issue
tomorrow night.
Two Alaska men went on trial
today for a deadly mail bombing
three years ago.
Raymond Shealy and Joseph Ryan
are in federal court in Tacoma,
Washington, charged in the
killing of Dave Kerr and with
critically injuring his wife
Michelle near Thunderbird Falls.
The jury was selected today
after a change of venue was
granted due to pretrial
publicity in Alaska.
Both men face multiple
conspiracy and mail bombing
counts.
Shealy is accused of acting as
the mastermind trying to get
back at the victim's son for
testifying against him in
another murder case.
Ryan is accused of delivering
the parts to make the bomb.
Opening statements are expected
to get underway tomorrow.
Back here in Anchorage, Jason
Calamiti's future now rests in
the hands of a jury.
Calamiti is charged with
first degree murder for the
shooting death of 27-year-old
James Roberts two years ago.
The jury heard closing arguments
today.
Mary George's was there.
While Jason Calamiti stands
trial for murder, his parents
and other family members can
only sit and wait.
A close-knit group that has
come to this courtroom every
day since the trial began eight
days ago.
They still get to judge whether
he's confessing or what it's
about.
But the defense says the wrong
person is on trial and that a
woman named Silk is the
shooter.
She's got an incredible motive
to lie.
At trial, Silk testified
Calamiti and not her shot
James Roberts.
And as she took that stand and
she said to you, yes, I shot
James Roberts.
She would put herself in danger
of being charged with murder.
But police say it was Calamiti
then only 17 years old who
shot Roberts in the parking lot
of the Northway Mall two years
ago.
Roberts was shot in plain view
of his fiance who was with them
in the car.
Four, five, six times she
refers to the shooter as the
male.
Prosecutors say Roberts' fiance
told police at the crime scene
Calamiti was the shooter,
although she later testified a
trial that Silk shot Roberts.
In a videotaped interview with
police shown a trial, Calamiti
also tries blaming Silk for the
murder, but finally confesses
that he is the one who did it.
There he says,
puts his head down.
There is no woman.
There is no female.
She ain't the one.
But the defense says Calamiti
was only trying to protect Silk
taking the rap for her.
Jason, out of confusion and guilt
and protectiveness,
confessed to the police to
something he did not do.
To convict Calamiti of murder,
prosecutors must convince the
jury he's guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt.
But with a week of such
contradicting testimony,
the seed of doubt may have
already been planted.
Mary's
If convicted of first degree
murder,
Calamiti may face a
political caretaker on the
run against George
Beote badly.
But only after Prague
from Friday Night Live
Tuesday assigned women
of first degree murder, Calamite faces a maximum of 99 years behind bars. A charge of attempted
murder today for an anchorage man accused of shooting a good Samaritan. 20-year-old
Anthony Frankson was formally charged in Superior Court. He is accused of shooting 19-year-old
Robert Lincoln after the suspect sought shelter in Lincoln's home. Police say Frankson told
Lincoln he was being chased. After he was let inside the home, Frankson allegedly let
someone else in, shot Lincoln in the neck, and then pistol-whipped him. Frankson was
also charged with robbery and assault. He is being held on $25,000 bail. The trial is
set for April 10th. O.J. Simpson's behavior on the night of the murders was under the
microscope in a Los Angeles courtroom today. In her second day on the witness stand, Nicole
Brown Simpson's sister Denise offered more tearful testimony. Brown claimed Simpson at
times beat her sister, at other times belittled her, calling her a fat pig while she was pregnant.
She told jurors that on the day of the murders, O.J. had a bizarre and far away look in his
eyes and refused to greet his ex-wife at their daughter's dance rehearsal.
It was more of a, like a glazed over, kind of frightening dark eyes. It just didn't look
like the O.J. that we knew. Every time it turned around, he was staring at Nicole.
The next prosecution witness also described Simpson as being in a strange mood that day.
A surprise plea today in the trial of a dozen Muslim fundamentalists charged with unleashing
a reign of terror on New York City. The accused mastermind of those plans pleaded guilty on
all counts against him, then agreed to help the prosecution in their case against the
11 co-defendants. Siddiq Ibrahim Siddiq Ali says he was under religious order to act,
and that his plans included killing Egypt's president and bombing New York sites, including
the United Nations, the Hudson River Bridge, and tunnels.
And coming up next on the Late Edition, don't be surprised if there's an unexpected ringing
in your ears when you call long distance.
And Fort Richardson becomes the target of its own demolition expert. Details next on
the Late Edition.
The Channel 2 News Late Edition was brought to you in part by Alaska Sails and Surfers.
Sailing Alaska since 1944. And by Alaska Regional Hospital, partners in life.
I've been buying cars from Alaska Sails for 30 years. I have no reason to go anywhere
else.
I like the friendliness at Alaska Sails and Surfers. People are really nice to me.
My husband believes in Alaska Sails and Surfers, and they've always treated me right.
I have and would recommend Alaska Sails and Surfers to any of my friends who are looking
for vehicles.
Alaska Sails and Surfers met my needs, and I'm going to come back.
I like Alaska Sails. They've always treated me well on no-place with my trucks. Alaska
Sails and Surfers is service.
Do the rooms in your house have the winter blues?
Brighten up your home with the hottest inventory reduction sale at KNW Interiors.
Set the mood in any room with Armstrong Vinyl flooring starting at only 69 cents a square
foot.
Add color with Evans and black carpet at $1.25 per square foot including a 10-year warranty
against stains and wear.
Lighten up your bathroom with bone or white wall tile at almost 20 cents each.
Her rate of the hottest inventory reduction sale at KNW Interiors.
Sail ends Monday.
Strike it rich during sourdough days at Magnum with Alaska's lowest prices on electronics
and appliances.
Hundreds of gold nugget bargains like the Sony Cordless Bone just $1.29, the Satachi
27-inch TV only $4.99, the Sony Car Stereo just $1.49, or the Sminolta Camcorder only
$4.99.
Plus, the best buys ever on scratch and dent appliances are waiting for you in Magnum's
huge upstairs showroom.
And we'll grub-stake you with Magnum's fast and easy financing.
It's a motherload of savings store-wide.
Hurry and strike it rich during Magnum's good as gold sourdough days.
A Fort Richardson demolition expert is behind bars tonight.
38-year-old James Minella surrendered to military police after holding them at bay
for nearly 30 hours.
Mary Beth Weber has the story.
Rowena Javier is moving back home today.
She and her family were evacuated dinnertime Saturday.
And then they said, you have to go, you have to go, you know.
And so we leave with just our clothes on.
And we thought it's like in the movie, like a two-hour thing, it's all over with, so we
didn't bring anything.
The Javiers and 55 other families live near James Minella, close enough that Army officials
felt they would be in danger if Minella decided to trigger the explosives in his house.
He had three weapons inside the set of quarters, ammunition and, of course, all the makings
to make an explosive device.
Minella lives here at 225 Akitan, apartment A. He barricaded himself inside Saturday afternoon
at 430.
Minella said then he was depressed about a pending court martial over an incident said
to have taken place in October on Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Officials say he ran into a military police car.
He's got five charges against him, including aggravated assault and, afterward, attempted
suicide.
But he was free.
Well, lots of times it's not uncommon for a soldier who's pending court martial to
be staying in his own quarters if he is no fear of flight and no risk.
This particular time, I guess, as things changed in his life, he became a risk to himself.
Saturday, Minella called us repeatedly, saying he felt his life was over.
Due to interference in the Air Force and the Army and the relationships I've had with some
people, it appears most of my loved ones are out of my life now, and without them, I just
don't want to continue living.
Minella is still at Fort Richardson, but he's being held at the pretrial facility.
No one's sure yet what charges will be filed against him.
They'll have to wait until the investigation is over.
That can take days or months.
And while Rowena says the Army took good care of her family the last two nights, she's in
no hurry to do it again.
We're very happy to go home.
At Fort Richardson, Mary Beth Webber, Channel 2 News.
If convicted on his first pending court martial, Minella could face time in Fort Leavenworth
Military Prison, or he could be dishonorably discharged.
Nineteen-year-old Tommy Harris faces at least seven years in prison for beating a man with
a baseball bat.
Harris pleading no contest to first-degree assault and robbery.
The attack happened last September during a robbery at the Tesoro Station in Palmer.
Harris was originally charged with attempted murder, but last month he pleaded no contest
to the lesser charges.
The unidentified victim was visiting a clerk at the gas station.
Some new information tonight about the man who abducted a nine-year-old girl last month.
The girl was taken as she walked to her Fairview School January 25th.
Police say she was driven as far away as two hours, assaulted, then brought back to Anchorage
and released.
The suspect is described as a thin white male, about 40 years old.
With no solid leads, police have turned to the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit in Quantico,
Virginia for help.
According to a profile developed by the FBI unit, the suspect may be acting irritable,
depressed and withdrawn, and may be drinking more.
Officials are hoping a friend or co-worker will notice these changes and call police.
If you have relatives outside of Alaska, phoning home may have a hollow sound to it for at
least a few days.
Alaskan officials say a broken cable shut down long-distance service yesterday.
Calls were getting through again by late evening with the help of a satellite instead of the
fiber optic cable line.
The last time a telephone cable line broke was back in 1993.
Both Alaskan and GCR rerouting calls the satellite.
Alaskan says this break is just off the Oregon coast and repairs could take up to a week
at an estimated cost of $1 million.
But for now, those dialing long-distance should not have any problems.
Well, there may be some very few isolated cases and if that's the case, they need to
just tell the operator.
But all of our people over there, all of our testing shows that no overflow, traffic's
going through fine.
The rural Alaska television network known as RatNet is also down.
Alaskan had to pull the satellite plug in order to accommodate the rerouted telephone
calls.
And if you're out there driving tonight, be careful, very icy roads.
And Jackie Ann, right now, to tell us about what's going on out there.
The main roads aren't too bad.
It is the side roads that are generally the problem because of all the melting and that
it forms like ice rinks on local roads.
We'll tell you more about the weather forecast in just a moment, so stay tuned.
They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Your friends at Alaska Regional Hospital can help you learn to prevent health problems
through classes, risk assessments, and other outreach programs.
February is National Heart Month, so take care of your heart with a quick and easy cardiac
risk assessment and blood test.
It was ice hockey and the friendly competition of sporting events that laid the foundation
of Anchorage's Fur Rondi.
First known as the Winter Sports Tournament, the added element of a fur trapper's rendezvous
brought people together to enjoy a bright moment in the darkness of winter.
Through the years, numerous events and activities were added to capture the true spirit and
flavor of the Northland and to invite people from around the world to partake in this midwinter
festival of fun.
Alaskom is proud to present live TV coverage of this year's Rondi only on Channel 2.
Public notice.
Right now at Oak Water Bins bus location.
To the wall, to all cellar.
This is it.
Everything for the bedroom.
Sacrifice direct to the public and pennies on the dollar.
And pay nothing for one year.
The water bin's starting at 99 bucks.
The bedroom sets an Oak Wall units up to $1,000.
Millions items priced below.
Save in free delivery and special military discount.
With no money down, no interest, no payments for a year.
To the wall, to all cellar.
New veterans happening right now in Water Bins bus, Anchorage and Fairbanks.
I'm Joanne Brandlin and I want to talk to you about Girl Scouting.
When a Girl Scout comes to your door to sell cookies, greet them with a smile.
Can you imagine how hard it is for them to go door to door and sometimes the door gets
slammed in your face and sometimes people buy lots and lots of boxes of cookies.
So open the door with a smile, buy lots of cookies and remember this is going for a very
good cause.
We've gone through a lot of conditions but things will drop below freezing, at least
temperature-wise, so it will be a slick one in the morning.
Now let's take a look at what the current conditions are outside.
Some ice is still frozen around town obviously.
It's just freezing.
Winds are out of the northwest eight miles per hour.
82% humidity.
Barometric pressure continues to fall.
We've got a system nearing us and air quality has been in the good category.
And as far as the temperatures around town, generally above normal and mostly into the
the 30s, even along the hillside, which is reporting a loss of about 10 inches of snow.
And also the peak gust, as far as the windstorm over the weekend, was about 62 miles per hour
out near Rabbit Creek. So it was a windy one, even last night. Winds will start to die down
by tomorrow morning. Now we'll take a look at some of the conditions, or some of the
reasons that are causing those windy conditions. It's this storm, and actually another storm,
over the weekend. And you can see how far down to the southeast clouds reach, even way
farther. And that is going to be meaning that it's sort of like a corridor for warm, moist
air to be coming our way over south central Alaska on into the interior over the next
several days. We've had a weakening storm system along the west coast, too, so things
there are also warm. And here's another one making its way in. But that's expected to
move to just about this position, stay there. So what it looks as though we're going to
have in terms of weather for the next week is just plain, cloudy, mild conditions. That
means it's going to be also messy in some areas. As you can see, by a high of 42 in
Anchorage, up to 34 today in Fairbanks. Quite a dramatic change as far as the temperature
goes there. Mid-30s for the western half of the state, and 32 over toward Cold Bay. Even
Kodiak Island nearing 40 degrees. And beyond that, for the Panhandle, they had some very
wet weather, warm weather, and that looks as though they're going to have more of the
same for tomorrow. As far as south central temperatures go, we also had temperatures
that were above normal in Prince William Sound, up into the valleys, the peninsula, just about
everywhere. Even reports of some lightning being seen just across Kachemak Bay from Homer
around Seldovia. So quite some strange weather going on over the last couple of days. Normally
we do not see thunder and lightning in south central Alaska, and if we do, it's generally
during the summer. The hot spot in the state of Alaska today at Sitka, while north way
at minus five was the cool spot today for the state. Across the lower 48, it seems like
winter is more entrenched in other sections of the lower 48, such as the northern tier
states on over the Great Lakes and the east coast. They had a lot of snow over the weekend.
It looks as though they're going to be in for a little bit more before they get a little
bit warmer. The Pacific Northwest, really not too bad. They had a little bit of some
light rain in California. Well, not much to talk about, which is good news for them. A
hot spot down there was in El Centro, California, but we'll tell you the forecast for the state
of Alaska first. We're going to be seeing some more rain and some clouds up toward Kenai.
Temperatures will stay generally into the 30s, maybe just a little bit over 40, if we're
sewered. Mountainous Houston, Sintana Valley areas will drop below freezing, mostly in
the northern sections. It's probably a good bet that in some places around Wasill and
Palmer 34 will be warmer than it actually is. It's going to be about 30 tonight in
Anchorage. We have light rain and snow in the forecast. The gusty winds along the hillside
will continue, but they should start to diminish by morning. Now, we could still have some
light rain and snow in the morning hours, but that's expected to taper off. Cloudy conditions
tomorrow. Highs, well, nearing the 40 degree mark. Now, I want to say these two right here
asked for the warmer weather. So if anybody did not like the close to 50 degree readings,
they were saying, oh, that'll be great. The warmer weather will be great over the week.
As long as it stays and break up comes, that would be great. But it won't, it just won't.
Okay, thanks, Jackie. Welcome back, John. You've been away for a while. We missed you.
Aloha. Yeah. Where's our alaids? My time. They're gone. I drank them all. No, I'm joking.
Enough sitting in college hoops. Details when we come back. Williams and Kaye invites you
to save on quality home furnishings during the incredible Thomasville sale. You'll find
incredible savings of 25 to 50% on Thomasville sofas, chairs, dining rooms, and bedrooms.
Choose from in stock or custom order the fabric and pieces to fit your home perfectly. Come
on in and see what's new and save 25 to 50% during the incredible Thomasville sale at
Williams and Kaye at the corner of Benson and Seward. Hello, I'm Jill Waters, director
of community education for the Anchorage School District. Our community schools are celebrating
20 years of providing programs for all ages in Anchorage, Girdwood, and Chugayaccio River.
We'd like to thank the thousands of volunteers and participants who have helped make our
community schools the best in the nation. Please join us this year in celebrating the
20th anniversary of the community schools. Contact a community school in your area today
for current classes, activities, and volunteer opportunities. Tomorrow on Today's dramatic
testimony from Nicole Brown Simpson's sister. What does the jury think? We talked to an
expert. Join us tomorrow and see what a difference today makes. Welcome back at an event dominated
a year ago by the Nancy Kerrigan attack and ensuing Tonya Harding scandal. A handful of
Anchorage figure skaters are strutting their stuff this year. The national figure skating
championships for 95 are underway in Rhode Island and Anchorage figure skating club member
Christina Nishimura, seen here at regionals back in December, is in the running for a
medal. The 15-year-old skating to a third place finish this afternoon with her short
program in the novice ladies free skate. Christina, who is best known for her strong long program,
will skate just that on Wednesday in an effort to remain in the top three. Also skating today
at nationals, Anchorage's Sarah Devereaux places seventh in the nation in junior ladies
figures, while 17-year-old Danny Claussen places sixth overall in the senior men's figures
competition. Anchorage skater Derek Steading begins his national competition Thursday while
Sydney Vogel, a gold medal contender in junior ladies, skates tomorrow. We will keep you posted.
The regular season is over in Prep Pucks, meaning it's playoff time, meaning the last
regular season poll is out and it looks like this. Chugy XD is on top despite a loss over
the weekend. Bartlett is still second in service despite that big win over Chugy XD. Diamond
and East flip flop at the bottom of the poll. As mentioned, the playoffs, regional playoffs
are about to begin. It all starts at Ben Bokey tomorrow, which is where we caught up with
East this afternoon. The T-Vers are one of those teams that no one wants to play. They
can be cold or extremely hot. Head Coach Rob Larky, along with another local coach, admits
the polls come in handy in an indirect way. When you're number one, you have nowhere but
to fall down. And if you're at the bottom of the pile, you have nowhere but to climb
up. So no one wants to be number one because everybody's going to come gunning for you.
We're number one and therefore we're probably the best. And we're teenagers, we want to
avoid that. And I think it's best to let them always keep striving and thinking they're
best games ahead of them. And as an optimist, I'd like to believe somewhere down the road
here in the playoffs, but our best hockey's still ahead of us. Service and East play Wednesday,
Diamond and West get things started tomorrow night. On to Pro Pucks, like the Democrats
in Washington, the Ottawa Senators have had a rough go of it lately, but not tonight.
Ottawa hosting Philly, the most exciting play in sports, the penalty shot. Mark Reky for
the Flyers denied by Don Beaupre. The Senators post their first shutout in franchise history.
They get goals from Alexander Daigle, Alexey Yeshen and Troy Murray. This is Yeshen's on
the power play. Ottawa wins for the first time this season, cutting up Lindros and the
Flyers three-zip. All-State or Knights, San Jose at Toronto, not a shark attack, but a
maple leaf mauling. Dave Anderchuk scores two first-period power play goals. Toronto
nets five man advantage opportunities. They skate past the Sharks 7-3, ending San Jose's
sixth game on beaten streak. NBA News, the Phoenix Suns suffer a major loss without playing
a game. All-Star Danny Manning will miss the rest of the season. Manning tearing the ACL
in his left knee at practice this morning. The ligament needs surgery, meaning Danny is
done. Manning vows to return. He suffered the exact same injury six years ago as a rookie
with the LA Clippers. College Hoops, North Carolina is back on top. The Tar Heels number
one on the latest AP Hoops poll. They move up from number two. Kansas up from number
three. While UConn, last week's number one, drops to third. UMass is fourth and Kentucky
five. The second five goes like this. UCLA, Michigan State, Maryland, Arizona and Syracuse.
And almost before the votes are tallied, there's an upset to report. Second-rank Kansas will
fall from number two. Roy Williams' team losing on the road. Number 24, Oklahoma State gets
them. They were here for the shootout back in November. Big country Bryant raves a career
night. Thirty-three points, twenty rebounds. Second-rank Jayhawks take a tumble. Oklahoma
State takes charge of the big eight with the 79-69 win at home. And finally, the baseball
labor dispute is following the lead from the hockey holdup, pushing back the dreaded deadline.
Maybe it means they may eventually settle this thing. Today in Washington, federal mediator
Bill Ussery met with President Clinton and convinced the press to delay the deadline
he had set for today to tomorrow for a settlement proposal. It's not clear what the president
can do or what Congress could take if the deadline is not met. Ussery says he simply
needs more time with such high stakes. You have to write a recommendation that would
go to the president of the United States that may be used otherwise. It takes a lot of time
to do that. So we simply ran out of time. It's our own best interest to get this done
ourselves. We don't need somebody else telling us what to do. Deadline is 3 p.m. Eastern
time tomorrow and I don't know what the deadline means. Just the president is trying to prod
them along. Little pressure from the press. Hey, you haven't lost your touch. Thank you.
Thanks, Jayhawks. Sorry I didn't bring anything back. Yeah, sure you are. And just ahead,
she's looking for more than just a few good men and women. Rear Admiral Marcia Evans is
the highest ranking woman in the United States Navy and she's here. Her story next. Williams
and Kaye invites you to save on quality home furnishings during the incredible Thomasville
sale. You'll find incredible savings of 25 to 50 percent on Thomasville sofas, chairs,
dining rooms and bedrooms. Choose from in stock or custom order the fabric and pieces
to fit your home perfectly. Come on in and see what's new and save 25 to 50 percent during
the incredible Thomasville sale at Williams and Kaye at the corner of Benson and Seward.
Ski to Mexico with Challenge Alaska. The Ski-a-thon is back and bigger than ever. Win a Mexican
vacation for four, a Caribbean cruise or a Maui getaway. You'll help raise money for
the new sports and recreation center at Alieska and all you do is ski. The Ski to Mexico Ski
a-thon is February 25th. For information call 563-2658. Challenge Alaska. Giving disability
a possibility through recreation. The highest ranking woman in the U.S. Navy is in Anchorage
and part of her mission is to enlist new recruits. Rear Admiral Marcia Evans is here to meet
with recruiters and to let the public know the Navy is looking not for just a few but
as many as 57,000 young men and women to fill job openings. The Navy is a very progressive
organization and we've opened so many opportunities. The vast majority of the opportunities are
open now to women and women are very important members of our team so it's a good experience
for young women as well as young men. Thousands of women are actively serving in the Navy
now and some in the areas that were once only available to men so if you're looking for
a job Lori I'm sure she'll gladly take your application. That would really make you happy
I know it. Thanks for being with us tonight. Have a good night.
Here are four questions to ask you.