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            Despite having met with the school board earlier in the evening, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly held its second work session of the night on Thursday, though there was only one item on the agenda: revising borough code for professional services contracts.

            The call for revisions came about earlier this fall when questions were raised among some assembly members about conflict of interest regarding contracts between the borough and assembly members.

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            When Senator Charlie Huggins of Wasilla put together an all-Republican majority in the state Senate, Kodiak’s Gary Stevens was left out in the cold. But that changed Thursday afternoon, when the two-time Senate president joined the majority.
            In exchange, Stevens was given the chairmanship of the Senate’s Education Committee. He will also serve on the Legislative Council and chair of the World Trade Committee.
            Even though he did an end-around of the Senate Bipartisan Working Group, Huggins praised Stevens, saying “his leadership of the Senate over the past four years has been outstanding.”
            Stevens is a retired history professor, which, according to Senator Kevin Meyer of Anchorage, will make him a good leader in the “fight to continue improving Alaska schools.”
            Stevens has been unavailable for comment since the Tuesday elections.
            Republican Senator Bert Stedman, who with Stevens, was left in the cold with the break up of the bipartisan coalition, joined the new Republican majority late yesterday. Both were in the leadership of the now-defunct Senate Bipartisan Working Group.

            Coming up this week, a plan to shut down the largest herring fishery in the state has been turned aside by an advisory committee, the members of the Cook Inlet Salmon Task Force have been named, and how salmon are like money in the bank. All that, plus: PETA mourns the loss of saltwater bass. We had help from KDLG’s Mike Mason in Dillingham, KDLL’s Shaylon Cochran in Kenai, and CoastAlaska’s Ed Schoenfeld in Sitka.

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            The proposed bike path from downtown Kodiak to Deadman’s Curve hit another dead end during Tuesday’s City Council work session when City Manager Aimee Kniaziowski said she had not heard back from the State Department of Transporation. During last month’s work session council members were told they would have to sign a draft agreement with the DOT on the bike path project before any definitive costs could be provided. Many council members expressed concerns about the unknown cost and didn’t feel comfortable signing a contract without knowing the cost. There were other questions about the agreement that council members raised, but Kniaziowski said she was unable to reach anyone with the DOT since then. Councilman Charlie Davidson said it wouldn’t behoove the council to continue discussions about the project without those answers.