The Highliner

Commercial fishing is a bedrock industry in Alaska, and has been for more than a century. Every year scores of fishermen net millions of migrating salmon, challenge the icy Bering Sea to trap king crabs, lay miles and miles of baited hooks for halibut, and scoop up enough pollock for a zillion fish sticks. And when fishermen aren't out fishing, they're usually talking about fishing. That's what this blog is all about. Cast your net here for commercial fishing news and notes. And if you've got a bone to pick, post a comment.

About me:
I've pounded the commercial fishing beat for the Anchorage Daily News since 1999. I hail originally from Tennessee. I've never fished commercially, but I've spent much time as a journalist aboard boats and inside fish-processing plants. Of course, I'm a big consumer of Alaska seafood. One of my favorites: canned sockeye.

Contact Wesley Loy at wloy@adn.com.


Archive

A fisherman vice president? - 8/29/2008 1:20 pm

Madsen loses bid for state House - 8/27/2008 3:12 pm

EPA fines another processor - 8/27/2008 10:24 am

Breaking news: Partial settlement in Exxon case - 8/26/2008 6:44 pm

Homer man charged with sablefish violation - 8/25/2008 10:00 am

Kodiak cutter crew boards Japanese vessel - 8/23/2008 5:17 pm

Salmon eaters, beware tapeworms - 8/22/2008 7:51 pm

American Seafoods lets catfish go - 8/22/2008 6:04 pm

Pebble and Bristol Bay’s salmon defenders - 8/22/2008 10:24 am

American Seafoods gets bigger - 8/18/2008 7:38 pm

MSC replies to state on 'client' status - 8/13/2008 1:16 am

Scale scandal - 8/13/2008 12:22 am

Court commands more delay in Exxon case - 8/12/2008 11:49 pm

Skipper accepts plea in vessel grounding - 8/7/2008 5:01 pm

Southeast seiners reduce their ranks - 8/6/2008 2:58 pm

Young defenders - 8/6/2008 2:16 pm

UFA: Stevens ‘innocent until proven guilty’ - 8/1/2008 3:45 pm

‘The tragedy of Sen. Stevens’ - 7/30/2008 1:49 pm

What’s fishy about Stevens indictment - 7/29/2008 11:58 am

A bit more on Aleutians king crab - 7/27/2008 12:29 am

Aleutians king crab deal announced - 7/27/2008 12:00 am

Brothers lose liberty, boat for halibut scheme - 7/25/2008 10:56 am

full archive »

Congress to examine Exxon Valdez ruling

Posted by The Highliner

Posted: July 18, 2008 - 7:37 pm

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday to review Supreme Court decisions on “corporate misconduct.”

The hearing will look at recent cases such as Exxon Valdez that show “a shift on the Court shielding corporations from accountability for their actions,” according to a press release from Leahy’s office.

I'm told a Cordova resident will testify at the hearing.

Here’s the Leahy press release:

U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

Senate Judiciary Committee To Examine Supreme Court Decisions On Corporate Misconduct

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, July 15, 2008) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today announced a Committee hearing scheduled for July 23 to look at how recent decisions by the Supreme Court have shielded corporations engaged in misconduct. The hearing follows an examination by the Senate panel last month of how the Supreme Court’s recently concluded term favored big business over protecting the rights of individuals relating to health care, retirement, financial services and employment issues.

Recent Supreme Court decisions, including last month’s decision in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, have highlighted a shift on the Court shielding corporations from accountability for their actions. Such decisions have hindered the rights of Americans to receive damages for harm done at the hands of large corporations. The decisions have not only allowed some corporations to evade justice but have provided pro-business shields to some of the nation’s largest corporations, thereby stripping meaningful incentives for good business practices in all corporations.

In June, the Judiciary panel examined recent Supreme Court decisions that have preempted several state laws established to protect Americans, including laws to shield Americans from illegal hiring practices, medical liability, and predatory lending practices. The July 23 hearing is expected to feature a witness who will testify about the lasting effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska on the livelihoods of hundreds of fishermen and sailors, as well as witnesses who will testify about how the January Supreme Court ruling in Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. impacts senior citizens, and the widespread effects of Supreme Court rulings in the area of binding mandatory arbitration.

The hearing, “Courting Big Business: The Supreme Court’s Recent Decisions on Corporate Misconduct and Laws Regulating Corporations,” will be held Wednesday, July 23, at 10:00 a.m. in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will be webcast live online.


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