Senator Ted Stevens was indicted yesterday on corruption charges by a federal grand jury in Washington DC. He has been indicted on 7 counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home in Girdwood. The 28-page indictment does NOT include any bribery charges.

From May 1999 to August 2007, prosecutors said the senator concealed thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation. That private corporation is VECO.

Prosecutors say that Stevens took multiple steps to continue receiving things from the oil service company and its founder, Bill Allen. VECO’s requests included funding and other aid for VECO”s projects and partnerships in Pakistan and Russia. It also included federal grants from several agencies.

Stevens did not disclose the alleged gifts on his federal financial disclosure forms.

Senator Stevens released a statement yesterday stating he is innocent of the charges and intends to prove it. He said in the statement that he has proudly served the nation and Alaska for over 50 years and it saddens him to learn that charges have been brought against him. He says he has never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a US Senator.

Pollsters are now speculating on Stevens chance to win this falls election. Stevens’ re-election campaign Tuesday afternoon released a statement saying the Stevens’ Campaign for Re-election is continuing to move full steam ahead. They said the office has been flooded with calls and emails from supporters urging the Senator to press on.

• Read the formal indictment (PDF)

A free DVD is now available for those residents wishing additional assistance in operating a successful Bed & Breakfast. It is geared toward rural Alaska, including residents wishing to open a Bed and Breakfast in the northern Sustina Valley.

The Alaska Office of Economic Development has a new educational DVD designed to provide information for individuals interested in operating a Bed and Breakfast in Alaska. The DVD features information and advice from several Bed and Breakfast owners and operators located throughout Alaska. The video is designed to assist tourism entrepreneurs understand the realities of operating a B & B in rural Alaska and details many of the steps necessary to have a successful operation. Topics covered range from handling reservations, to marketing to insurance to food safety.

According to Dru Garson, Tourism Development Specialist, B & B owners from Homer all the way to Nome are featured. He says it is geared toward rural Alaska and the challenges and opportunities that rural operators face are presented.

Funding for the project was provided through a USDA Rural Enterprise Grant and 3 project partners, the Alaska Office of Economic Development, the Alaska Bed and Breakfast Association of Alaska and the Alaska Film Group.

The DVD is free. According to Garson, the DVD should be posted on their website soon. Residents can either call the Office of Economic Development at 465-2162 or wait for a week for the DVD to be posted on the Economic Development website.

The National Weather Service has issued flood watches and warnings for areas north of the Upper Valley on the other side of the Alaska Range. Some residents in the Salcha area have been evacuated. Fairbanks is expecting heavy rains and the Nenana River is expected to crest at levels above flood stage.

A flood watch is still in effect for residents in the Denali Park area and Healy. The National Weather Service says rivers are expected to remain at flood stage all day Wednesday through early Thursday morning along the Parks Highway near the Park entrance and Healy.

The Tanana Valley and Delta Junction are under flood warnings. More than 3 inches of rain has fallen in the Tanana Valley and Delta Junction area since Monday. Some families in the Salcha area have been evacuated. The river is over bank full at the Richardson Highway Bridge.

The Tanana River in Fairbanks at 3 o’clock this morning was 25 feet and rising. A crest of 26 feet is expected. Flood stage is 24.5 feet.

All flood warnings are in effort until Thursday afternoon. The flood watch in and around Denali Park is in affect until Thursday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, heavy rains should stay north of the Alaska Range.

U.S. Senator Ted Stevens has been indicted on federal corruption charges by a federal grand jury in Washington DC.

The breaking news came in this morning from NPR and the Associated Press.

Stevens has been indicted on seven counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.

From May 1999 to August 2007, prosecutors said the 84-year old senator concealed, quote…his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation…unquote.

The 28-page indictment was unsealed on Tuesday and says the items include improvements to his vacation home in Girdwood and a vehicle exchange that involved a vehicle worth much more than the one traded.

Prosecutors say that Stevens took multiple steps to continue receiving things from oil service company, VECO Corporation, and its founder, Bill Allen. VECO’s requests included funding and other aid for VECO’s projects and partnerships in Pakistan and Russia. It also included federal grants from several agencies, as well as help in building a national gas pipeline on the North Slope.

These charges come about a year after an FBI raid on Stevens’ home in Girdwood. Renovations on the home were overseen by Allen and the house doubled in size. Stevens has said he paid all the bills he was presented.

There has been no comment from Stevens’ Senate office or the campaign headquarters in Anchorage.

We learn more about the jazz musicians who make up New York City’s Rocco John Quartet. The band members are in Talkeetna for a couple weeks to teach improvisational jazz to local music makers of all ages.

Host: Tony Crocetto

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(30 min)

The Mat-Su Borough has received money from Alaska Energy Authority to produce a feasibility study on the proposed wood-fired boiler system at the new Su Valley Junior and Senior High.

The Denali Commission and the Alaska Energy Authority announced the award of $5 million dollars for alternative and renewable energy projects across the state. Thirty-three different projects received a portion of that 5 million dollars. The Su Valley project is only one of 3 biomass projects awarded money.

The Mat Su Borough is the entity that actually applied for the 20-thousand dollar grant. They will match the AEA grant with an additional 5 percent for performing the feasibility study.

Tami Hamler, one of the local residents working on the proposed project, said she was thrilled and that the proposed project received a lot of support from AEA. She said that AEA had even urged the Borough to apply for a preconstruction grant at the same time. Hamler says the Borough needs convincing of the feasibility of the project before taking any more steps. She says the Borough will likely employ an engineering firm to conduct feasibility studies on the wood boiler system and the biomass project overall.

The Denali Commission and AEA issued requests for proposals months ago that garnered alternative and renewable energy cost reduction projects. The solicitation brought in 96 different proposals from around Alaska for funding projects totaling over 130 million dollars. Only 33 were chosen and rated as to their benefit-to-cost-ratio and Su Valley’s wood boiler system fell in the middle of all 33 projects.

George Cannelos, Co-Chair of the Denali Commission, says that one component of the application process included the development of an inventory of projects that focus on alternative solutions. Commissioners designated funds solely for the purpose of providing alternative energy solutions that will alleviate reliance on diesel fuel.