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Capital City Weekly

JUNEAU — Volunteer DJ Chris Trostel will host a special edition of “Mudlark Sampler” on KRNN-FM, 102.7, from noon to 2 p.m. on Feb. 4. The show will be a tribute to Juneau musician Buddy Tabor, who was diagnosed with cancer last year. Tabor was recently announced as the recipient of a Mayor’s Award for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be formally presented on Feb. 12 at the Wearable Art Extravaganza.

Tabor will tune in to the show from home as Trostel broadcasts dedications, thoughts and memories from friends. Those wishing to contribute to the program may do so by submitting a note at www.krnn.org or through KRNN’s Facebook page, or by calling 586-1212 during the broadcast.

Capital City Weekly

JUNEAU — The University of Alaska Southeast has announced the cancellation of tonight’s presentation by researcher Jim Darling on whale songs. Darling is unable to arrive in Juneau due to flight delays throughout the Northwest. He was to present his research about humpback whale songs, including their structure, composition, similarities and differences across the North Pacific.

The lecture will be rescheduled for a later date.

Capital City Weekly

JUNEAU — A free community celebration in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the University of Alaska Southeast Egan Lecture Hall.

The theme of the event will be “Striving To Go Higher,” focusing on the importance of education. Key speakers include UAS Chancellor John Pugh, Dr. Jessie Grant, Nathel Sims and Latarsha McQueen. Singing will be provided by Sherry Patterson and the Faith Community School Student Choir.

The celebration is sponsored by the Black Awareness Association of Juneau. For details, call 957-0630 or visit juneaubaa.wordpress.com.

A food drive organized by SAGA will be held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day itself. Through the drive, SAGA hopes to shine a spotlight on the connection between service and economic opportunity by supporting the Southeast Alaska Food Bank.

Canned and dried non-perishable foods will be accepted between 4 and 7 p.m. Monday at A&P Foodland, Rainbow Foods, Safeway, Super Bear and Walmart.

Capital City Weekly

JUNEAU — Noted wildlife photographer and naturalist Bob Armstrong will present a free program at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the University of Alaska Southeast Egan Lecture Hall. The program will focus on how to get photographs of wildlife without disturbing them. This event is sponsored by the Juneau Audobon Society.

Capital City Weekly

KETCHIKAN — Ed Zastrow of Ketchikan has been selected by AARP, the nonprofit membership organization for people 50 and older, to receive Alaska’s 2011 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service, the Association’s most prestigious and visible volunteer award. The award symbolizes an individual’s power and ability to make a difference in the lives of others.

Terry Miller, Managing Editor of the Ketchikan Daily News nominated Zastrow.

“For years, Ed Zastrow has been there for seniors in our community at every level,” Miller wrote. “He’s made AARP meetings in Ketchikan opportunities for the seniors of the community not only to learn about various programs and laws that will affect their lives; they’re also opportunities to question authorities and experts closely. From asking doctors about Medicare to asking the borough why there was no transportation to the community’s airport, on another island, seniors get the chance to ask questions and get answers.”

The AARP Andrus Award for Community Service recognizes members and volunteers who, through volunteer service, are significantly enhancing the lives of individuals age 50 and older. Recipients across the nation were chosen for their ability to enhance the lives of AARP members and prospective members, improve the community in or for which the work was performed, and inspire others to volunteer.

Capital City Weekly

JUNEAU — Photographer Matthias Breiter will be present from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 at Hearthside Books at the Nugget Mall. He will be selling and signing copies of his photography books “Wild Alaska,” “Inside Passage” and “Bears of Katmai.”

Breiter is an internationally renowned and highly respected author. He is considered one of the greatest authorities on bears, and is currently completing his doctorate studying brown bears in Alaska. His award-winning nature photographs have appeared in National Geographic, GEO, BBC Wildlife, Terre Sauvage and numerous other publications.

Gustavus author Hank Lentfer will also hold a presentation and book signing at the same location from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 8. Lentfer’s new book, “Faith of Cranes,” weaves together three parallel narratives: The plight and beauty of sandhill cranes, one man’s effort to recover hope amid destructive climate change, and the birth of a daughter.

Capital City Weekly

JUNEAU — A watercolor collection featuring Juneau’s Russian Orthodox Church will be on display at the Alaska State Library, on the eighth floor of the State Office Building. The paintings, by Sam McLain, will be on display through the month of December. A First Friday opening will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Dec. 2.

Capital City Weekly

JUNEAU — Hearthside Books will host Laraine and Romer Derr and Sharon Barton from Chez Alaska Cooking School from 4:30 to 9 p.m. during Friday’s Gallery Walk at the store’s downtown location. The Chez Alaska cookbook will be featured, along with Romer’s famous sourdough starter and prime rib rub.

“Chez Alaska Cooking School Recipes” is a compilation of recipes featuring the bounty of Southeast Alaska. Recipes include Stuffed Halibut in Phyllo, Wild Alaska Salmon with Wild Cranberry-Onion Relish, and a special section on working with sourdough.

National Federation of Independent Business news release

JUNEAU — The facts are indisputable, the opportunity right before us — right now, said Denny DeWitt, Alaska state director for the representative group for the true engine of the American economy.

“There is only one way out of this recession, and that’s when small businesses — not big corporations — start ringing up sales. Period!” said DeWitt, who is calling on Alaskans to reserve the day after Black Friday for a trip to their nearest small business to make a purchase or two.

Indeed, all the evidence bears DeWitt out. In its latest Small Business Profiles for States and Territories, the U.S. Small Business Administration pegs small-business employers as constituting 97 percent of all of Alaska’s employers, providing 55 percent of all private-sector jobs.

But DeWitt’s group, the National Federation of Independent Business, which has been The Voice of Small Business since 1943, has been doing its own research on issues particular to small businesses for seven decades. In its latest NFIB Small-Business Optimism Index, a key bellwether economic measurement used by Federal Reserve chairmen and Congress, it found the No. 1 problem facing small businesses to be “poor sales,” followed by government regulations and taxes.

“Small Business Saturday is about Main Street, not Wall Street,” writes Dan Danner, president and CEO of NFIB. “It’s about entrepreneurs and families selling things that the chains and e-commerce companies aren’t. Only small businesses can offer truly unique gifts and the most genuinely friendly customer service. Small Business Saturday is also about supporting the local economy. The chain stores are owned by bigger companies that are probably based somewhere other than your hometown, but small businesses are usually owned by your neighbors. When you shop at a small business, you’re supporting your local economy and your local job base.”

Small Business Saturday is a concept started by American Express last year. NFIB is helping encourage its adaptation into a longer-term theme. DeWitt, however, qualified his piggybacking on an unrelated hot topic, “I just want people to occupy a small business on Saturday long enough to make a purchase so others may occupy that small business.”