The Anchorage Times was a daily newspaper published in Anchorage, Alaska , that became known for the pro-business political stance of longtime publisher and editor, Robert Atwood . Competition from the McClatchy -owned Anchorage Daily News forced it out of business in 1992.
31-768: The Anchorage Times was founded by Ted Needham and L. Frank Shaw as the Pioneer-News . The first issue, an advertisement-heavy "extra" edition, was published on May 27, 1915, and distributed without charge. The headline story was "Status of the New Townsite." It was the first newspaper published in the town, which was not yet formally known as "Anchorage." Regular weekly publication, as the Cook Inlet Pioneer and Knik News began on June 5, 1915, and daily publication began in October using equipment purchased from
62-498: A new headquarters one block away at Sixth and Broadway, a building which has remained in the possession of the company and its successors to this day. Bank of Alaska soon opened additional branches in Wrangell and Anchorage , which had just been named. Edward Anton Rasmuson, who was hired in the first year as the bank's attorney, and his family and descendants long played central roles in the bank's governance. He assumed control in
93-682: A winner of that race. Mark then entered the horse in the second leg of the Triple Crown , the Preakness Stakes . The new owners of Rachel Alexandra , a filly that won the Kentucky Oaks with Borel aboard, intended to enter her in the Preakness as well, with Borel again committed to riding her. Mark attempted to collude with another owner to enter two additional horses, in order to exclude Rachel Alexandra from running by filling
124-407: A worldwide player in the oil industry, having divisions in many major oil markets, including Sudan, Russia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Syria. VECO had a major impact on the economy of Alaska and employed over 5,000 people worldwide. Allen was later prosecuted for sexually assaulting minors, a crime he had been protected from prior after lying under oath during Ted Stevens 's corruption trial , costing
155-588: Is estimated that VECO was forced to sell for far less than its market value. Allen negotiated that 5% of the proceeds from the sale of VECO be given to the employees for the years of service they had given the company. Assets that included the Norcon division yard in Anchorage and other Alaskan and foreign properties were retained by the Allen family. Bill Allen had three children, who received $ 30 million each from
186-564: Is short for Veltri Co). Bill Allen was born in Socorro, New Mexico , and at the age of 16 left for the oil fields of Alaska to become a welder to help support his family. VECO began as a one-truck welding and repair operation that grew to become a major player in the Alaskan and worldwide oil industries' support services business. He built a for-profit prison in Barbados as well. VECO also was
217-595: The Daily News had been publishing a morning edition since 1964. In 1989, Atwood sold the Times to Veco Corporation , an oilfield service company seeking to invest its profits from the clean-up efforts following the Exxon Valdez oil spill . The new management was not able to turn the paper around, and after two and a half years and claimed losses of $ 10 million, the newspaper was sold to McClatchy which then made
248-515: The Daily News that same year. McClatchy's investment fueled an all-out circulation war. By 1984, readership of the Times had fallen behind that of the Daily News . In an interview with the Alaska Journal of Commerce , Times editor and assistant publisher, Bill Tobin , traced the paper's ultimate failure to the late 1980s, and to publisher Robert Atwood's resistance of the morning format. The Times remained an afternoon paper, whereas
279-558: The Daily News was really to blame for their own troubles, citing the discontinuation of subsidies to the paper by Ted Field , the son of Daily News publisher Kay Fanning and heir to the Marshall Field fortune. The papers reached an out-of-court settlement in 1978, and the agreement was terminated in 1979. In the short term, this was a setback for the struggling Daily News , which was compelled to seek outside investors. The Sacramento -based McClatchy newspaper chain, bought
310-496: The Times and the Daily News entered into a joint operating agreement in order to reduce costs. Later that year, the Times would begin issuing a Sunday edition. The Daily News had been publishing Sundays since 1965. The Anchorage Daily Times was renamed the Anchorage Times in 1976. In 1977, the Daily News filed suit against the Times , claiming violations of the joint operating agreement. Atwood countered that
341-476: The United States Department of Justice discovered a previously undocumented interview between Allen and prosecutors. In this interview, Allen stated that the fair market value of the repairs to Stevens' house was around $ 80,000, far less than the $ 250,000 he testified to at trial. Moreover, Allen said in the interview that he didn't recall talking to Bob Persons, a friend of Stevens, regarding
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#1732775520783372-624: The Alaska Statehood Committee. In Atwood's hands, the Anchorage Daily Times became a prominent voice for statehood. A rival, the Anchorage Daily News , began publishing in 1948, having begun as a weekly two years earlier. Although initially more of an editorial challenge than a competitive threat, the contest would influence the course of both newspapers over the next few decades. In 1974,
403-597: The Senator re-election in 2008 . On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the second-largest in United States history, after the BP Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill . Under Allen's guidance, VECO (along with its unionized subsidiary, NORCON)
434-578: The Times publisher Bill Allen pleaded guilty to political bribery charges, the Daily News announced that it would terminate the agreement at the end of that month. In June, the Voice of the Times began publishing an exclusively online edition. In October 2008, the Voice of the Times announced that it would stop publishing, with a probable final date of November 1, 2008. Bank of Alaska National Bank of Alaska (originally known as Bank of Alaska )
465-574: The VECO that was the subject of vigorous debate during the regular and two special sessions of the Alaska Legislature in 2006. Bill Allen's testimony, at the trial of his former friend, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens , helped secure Stevens' conviction, in U.S. District Court on charges of felonious corruption. Bill Allen pleaded guilty and could have faced 9–10 years. Instead, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined $ 750,000.00. He
496-507: The acquisition gave them the country's "most extensive banking franchise", with branches in 23 states. Bill Allen (corporate CEO) William James Allen (April 6, 1937 – June 29, 2022) was an American businessman who was the CEO of the Alaska oilfield services company VECO Corporation . VECO was an Alaska-based oil pipeline service and construction company founded by Wayne Veltri (VECO
527-400: The corporation. Allen was succeeded as chairman of the board by his daughter, Tammy Kerrigan. A new CEO had not been chosen. It was not clear if the position of Vice President for Community & Government Affairs would be refilled. In September 2007 VECO Corporation was sold to Colorado-based CH2M HILL corporation. Due to the cloud hanging over its head from the political investigation, it
558-472: The decision to shut down the Anchorage Times. The last issue of the Anchorage Times was published on June 3, 1992. A ten-year deal was inked to maintain the editorial voice of the defunct paper by way of a half-page Voice of the Times section opposite the Daily News editorial page. In 2002, this deal was renewed for another five years. On May 10, 2007, several days after Veco CEO and Voice of
589-568: The defunct Cordova Daily Alaskan . The paper was sold to Charlie Herron in the spring of 1916, and on May 24 changed its name to The Anchorage Daily Times & Cook Inlet Pioneer . On May 29, 1917, it became the Anchorage Daily Times . In December 1924, it was sold to cover debts to a group headed by Bank of Alaska president Edward A. Rasmuson and Jacob B. Gottstein . In June 1935, 28-year-old Robert Bruce Atwood, Edward Rasmuson's son-in-law, arrived in Anchorage from Worcester, Massachusetts . Atwood had been brought to Alaska by Rasmuson to assume
620-694: The editorial section of the ADN for many years afterward to provide a half-page feature known as The Voice of the Times . On May 7, 2007, Allen, along with VECO's Vice President for Community & Government Affairs Rick Smith, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Anchorage in the Alaska political corruption probe to charges of extortion, bribery, and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service . The charges involved bribing Alaska lawmakers to vote in favor of an oil tax law favored by
651-432: The field and to allow him to have Borel ride Mine that Bird again. After the scheme was exposed, Mark declined to enter his second horse. He issued a press release, stating "Additionally, my decision to enter Indy Express in the Preakness was strictly business but after consulting with my Dad (sic) and Doc Blach, I have decided to withdraw Indy Express to prevent any further miss (sic) understandings. They're (sic) advice to me
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#1732775520783682-487: The financial turmoil following World War I , and by 1919, he was serving as the bank's president. His wife, Jenny Olson Rasmuson, sat on the board of directors. In 1945, the bank's headquarters were moved to Anchorage. Rasmuson died in 1949, and left the bank to his son, Elmer E. Rasmuson . In 1950, the bank adopted a national charter, becoming the National Bank of Alaska. A 1960 merger made National Bank of Alaska
713-472: The largest bank in the state with 19 branches in six locations. Elmer Rasmuson also passed the business to his son, retiring in 1975. Edward Bernard Rasmuson became president and CEO. By 1978, National Bank of Alaska was operating 34 branches in 19 communities. In 1982, it was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of bank holding company National Bancorp of Alaska . By 1983, its assets topped $ 1 billion, and by 1990, it owned about half of all bank assets in
744-474: The position of editor-publisher of the paper, which at that time had a circulation of 650. He would hold the position until 1990. During the war years, Anchorage's population swelled from less than 8,000 to over 43,000, overtaking Fairbanks as Alaska's largest city, and making the Times Alaska's largest daily newspaper. In 1947, Alaska territorial governor Ernest Gruening appointed Atwood to chair
775-456: The repair bill for Stevens' house. This directly contradicted Allen's testimony at trial, where he claimed Stevens had asked him to give Persons a note Stevens had sent asking for a bill for the repair work. At trial, Allen said Persons had told him the note shouldn't be taken seriously because "Ted's just covering his ass". The notes of this interview were never given to the defense, as required by U.S. criminal law. The discovery of this interview
806-472: The sale of VECO: Kerrigan, Mark Allen, and Shannon West. He owned racehorses, including a partnership in the stud-horse So Long Birdie , which included his son Mark, Stevens, and seven others, and which was managed by Persons. New Mexico veterinarian Leonard Blach and Mark co-owned Mine that Bird , ridden by Calvin Borel , which won the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Going off at 50-1 odds, it was the longest ever odds on
837-571: The state. In December 1999, National Bancorp of Alaska agreed to a $ 907 million buyout by Wells Fargo & Co. It had more than $ 3 billion in assets, and 53 National Bank of Alaska branches in 29 Alaskan communities, with an additional branch in Seattle, Washington . The acquisition transaction closed in 2000, and branches converted to the Wells Fargo brand in June 2001. Wells Fargo officials said
868-542: Was Alaska 's largest financial institution for the latter part of the 20th century. In 2000, it was purchased by Wells Fargo , giving the larger bank a presence in 23 states. Bank of Alaska was founded in 1916 by Andrew Stevenson in Skagway, Alaska . The bank's first headquarters were in the building previously occupied by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at Fifth and Broadway, but it soon built
899-516: Was cited by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in his decision to move to dismiss Stevens' indictment before sentencing—effectively vacating his conviction. "I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial," said Holder. On May 11, 2007, the VECO Corporation announced that CEO Bill Allen and Vice President for Community & Government Affairs Rick Smith had resigned from
930-481: Was released from a halfway house in New Mexico on November 22, 2011. Later, it emerged that Allen might have perjured himself at trial, seemingly due to federal prosecutors promising he could avoid prosecution for paying for underage girls to travel across state lines for sex if he lied about Stevens under oath. During a review of the case triggered by allegations of prosecutorial misconduct , investigators for
961-498: Was responsible for large parts of the spill's cleanup, hiring 2,500 workers to clean up the environmental disaster. Following the spill and cleanup, Allen purchased the Anchorage Times from editor/publisher Robert Atwood . Allen operated the newspaper until shutting it down and selling many of its assets to its rival, the Anchorage Daily News , in 1992. Through an agreement described as "unique," Allen paid for space in