newsminer.com

For his first acting job in a commercial, former Fairbanksan Tim Lacatena finds himself on a big stage.

Lacatena, 26, plays a punk rocker in a 30-second commercial scheduled to air for Ice Breakers Ice Cubes gum during the Super Bowl.

The ad stars actress Carmen Electra as a gum fan and is expected to be broadcast during the third quarter, he said.

Fairbanksans may be surprised to see Lacatena as a punk rocker, but this could be a breakthrough for him in the commercial world.

The Super Bowl ads, selling this year for $2.7 million for a 30-second spot, draw more attention and scrutiny than any other commercials on TV.

An actor for six years, Lacatena had a part in the 2006 dance film “Step Up” and is looking for other ways to put his training to work.

Lacatena, the son of Mary Mika and Steve Lacatena, spent his early years in Anchorage and attended a dance course of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival as a young teenager. That led to a residency at the North Star Ballet and a move to Fairbanks.

Lacatena studied under Norman Shelburne and graduated from West Valley High School before going off to the Boston Ballet School and the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto.

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MERGER: WebWeavers Technology Group, a design and communications firm started by Fairbanksan Ginger Stock-McKenzie, has merged with Sundog Media of Anchorage.

Both companies formed in the mid-1990s, survived the dot.com bust and set out to be the best Web design companies in the state. Stock-McKenzie says the new company will “provide a home for both her clients and her staff.”

Until the merger, each company had a staff of five. Joe and Cathy Law are the principals in Sundog Media.

“We feel merging WebWeavers into Sundog Media will blend the two companies into an ideal team that provides superior customer service,” Stock-McKenzie said.

Stock-McKenzie said she plans to work as a contractor with the new enterprise, and hopes to find time to pursue other opportunities.

Over the last decade WebWeavers has employed 14 UAF students and/or graduates and has done work for companies across the state.

In a letter to her customers, Stock-McKenzie said her husband and his health are her main priority.

She said the transition will be seamless because the computer work the company specializes in can be done from anywhere.

“Ginger is a true professional and has built a tremendous business that we are being given the honor of leading,” Joe Law said.

The Web site is http://sundogmedia.com.

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RECYCLING: The borough recycling task force plans to gather ideas and discuss ways to increase recycling in the Fairbanks area. The meeting is set for Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Wood Center at UAF.

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ICE ALASKA: The Tanana Lakes area, which is past the extreme southern end of South Cushman, would be the new home for the Ice Park if Ice Alaska has its way. The group is working with the borough in hopes of getting a long-term lease on 30 acres.

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TOUGHER: A TV crew from MooreHuntley Productions is in town filming scenes of hardy Fairbanksans doing their best to deal with winter. The host of the 13-part “Tougher in Alaska” series, to be shown this year on the History Channel, is Alaska writer Geo Beach.

Among those interviewed for the show are Boy Scouts camping out at 40 below, GVEA power crews working in all kinds of weather and the guys from Homestead Pumping & Thawing, as they deal with frozen ground to install a new septic system.

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COLLEGE GOAL: One of the first steps toward making college financially feasible is filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known to the parents of college-bound students everywhere as FAFSA.

Financial aid professionals and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education will help parents and students compete the FAFSA on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. at Lathrop High School.

Students and their families can prepare for “Alaska College Goal Sunday” by going to www.alaskacollegegoalsunday.org.

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ACCESS: Almost no doctors in Fairbanks and Anchorage are taking new Medicare patients, a problem that will collide head-on with the rapid increase in the number of senior citizens in the state.

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MISSING: A singing penguin that belongs to Greg Platt, the vice principal at Tanana Middle School, has apparently been kidnapped, not by a student, but by someone on the staff.

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BORDER: For many months the federal government has warned that it would implement new border crossing rules this Thursday. Those crossing the border with a driver’s license or similar ID will also have to show a birth certificate as of that day.

If you have a passport, you won’t need to show a birth certificate.

On Monday, Sen. Ted Stevens and 15 other senators asked the Bush administration to delay the rule. This issue has not received much publicity and I can imagine that starting Thursday there will be all sorts of people denied access to Alaska or the Lower 48 because their papers are not in order.

I don’t know what the Bush administration will do or why the senators waited so long to write their letter, but if you plan to drive to the Lower 48 soon, don’t leave home without a birth certificate or a passport.

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MONITORING: Speaking of the border, trucks entering Alaska as of Feb. 11 are supposed to electronically submit cargo manifests to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to the agency’s Web site.

For the first two months, carriers will be warned that they are violating the new rule, while it will be fully enforced April 11, the Web site said.

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PHONE SCAM: No bank or any other legitimate business would make the automated calls that woke up some people in Fairbanks at about 1 a.m. Monday asking recipients to reveal financial information. Ignore all such calls.

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KID FRIENDLY: Booth space for the annual Kids Fest is available for nonprofits that serve kids and families. The event is Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at Pioneer Park. Call 488-0556 for details.