comments on README and AK time zones

[David Flater]

44 FR 55575, 1979-09-27

  Effective 1980-04-27 02:00 PST (the moment Daylight Savings Time
  begins), Juneau, Alaska and a portion of the surrounding area will
  move from the Pacific to the Yukon zone.  (The effect will be that
  clocks in the Juneau area will not have to be changed.)

  This change was in response to a formal petition from the assembly
  of the city and borough of Juneau.

45 FR 25065, 1980-04-14

  Editorial corrections to the new text and conforming changes to
  other impacted sections.  The text of 49 CFR 71.10a appearing here
  is the "final" definition of the new boundary between Yukon and
  Pacific time.  Many of the landmarks are anonymous ("thence
  northwesterly approximately 11 miles, to a mountain with an
  elevation of 2,775 feet").

  The bottom line is, not all of the Pacific zone in Alaska is
  affected by what happened to Juneau.  You'd need to add a zone.

45 FR 63494, 1980-09-25

  "On Friday, March 28, 1980, a special election was held in Juneau
  concerning the time zone decision.  By a vote of approximately 2 to
  1 (2,933 to 1,579) a proposition was passed that amended the Juneau
  City Charter to restrict the Assembly's authority to act in matters
  concerning time zones and to require the Assembly to ask the
  Department to reconsider its decision to move Juneau from the
  Pacific to the Yukon time zone."

  "On May 5, 1980 the Department denied the petition for
  reconsideration...."

  [... scenes of a violent nature redacted ...]

  "Based on the evidence presented to the Department, we have
  determined that the convenience of commerce would best be served by
  returning Juneau and the surrounding area to the observation of
  Pacific time."

  Effective 1980-10-26 02:00 YDT (the moment Daylight Savings Time
  ends), Juneau, Alaska and a portion of the surrounding area will
  move back to the Pacific zone.  (The effect will be that clocks in
  the Juneau area will again not have to be changed.)

  The following text suggests that at least some people in Juneau did
  observe the change to Yukon time:  "The majority of commenters
  stated that dividing the southeastern part of the State into two
  time zones had caused a great deal of confusion and had adversely
  affected commerce.  Commenters indicated that the change disrupted
  various aspects of the transportation and communications network
  that ties southeastern Alaska together.  Many commenters focused
  upon the particular confusion caused to the tourist and fishing
  industries in this area."


Other notes:

I obtained 49 CFR 71 as it appeared in 1969 and verified that the time
zone boundaries in Alaska were substantively identical to those in the
1982 CFR.  The differences in the text are all editorial.

I examined 49 CFR for 1965 (before the Department of Transportation
supplanted the Interstate Commerce Commission) but was unable to
locate any reference to time zones.


Regards,
DWF