Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

Ketchikan: Don't Be a Tosser In 2007 By MARY KAUFFMAN - During 2006, as in years past, community members and organizations have generously pitched in to clean up the highways of our community. Many of these volunteers were thanked for their efforts during 2006. Added to those deserving thanks are the Society of American Foresters and the First City Rotary who helped clean along the highways in November.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Code Enforcement Officer Jerry Cegelske said, "We owe a "Thank you" to the members of the Society of American Foresters for cleaning up their Mile 6 of North Tongass, and to the members of First City Rotary who helped clean up South Tongass in November." Cegelske said, "Their efforts are appreciated by a large majority of the community."

Cegelske said while talking with one of the First City Rotary clean-up volunteers the member mentioned visiting relatives in Missouri. Regarding the volunteer's visit Cegelske said, "They lived along a divided highway which had large amounts of trash scattered along it. He [the Rotary member] was amazed at the amount of trash people threw out of their vehicles. His relatives couldn't believe that he would go out and pick it up as he did. Guess they liked the prior view! He hates litter, and those that dump it."

"The sad thing," said Cegelske, " is that many of the people in Ketchikan are like the litter bugs in Missouri, and would have Ketchikan look like Missouri if it weren't for people like the First City Rotary member."

Cegelske said, "It is amazing that people work overtime to destroy the thing that attracted them to an area in the first place, but not take a few minutes to prevent it from happening." He said, "We have natural beauty here which keeps many of us here. It brings tourists by boat and plane that pay to visit and see the beauty, providing many of us with the jobs that allow us to stay and continue to enjoy it." Unfortunately said Cegelske, "Others really couldn't care less as they toss their trash and litter from their cars and boats, and allow it to blow from their trucks." - More...
Saturday PM - January 06, 2007

Fish Factor: Summer isn't Alaska's only "fishing season" By LAINE WELCH - Salmon will always be the heart of Alaska's fisheries, and that is why many people think of summer as "the fishing season."

But that's not the case.

Winter is when Alaska's largest fisheries get underway each year. On January 1, hundreds of boats with hook and line gear or pots will begin plying the waters of the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska for Pacific cod, rockfish and other groundfish. Then on January 20th trawlers take to the seas to target Alaska pollock, the world's largest food fishery with annual harvests topping three billion pounds. Crab boats will soon be out on the Bering Sea in earnest for snow crab, Alaska's largest crab fishery. Late February or early March will see the start of the eight month long halibut and sablefish seasons. March also marks the beginning of Alaska's roe herring circuit, usually at Sitka Sound, and those fisheries will continue for several months all the way up the coast as far west as Norton Sound.

And although wild Alaska king salmon is available from Southeast trollers nearly year round, mid-May marks the official start of Alaska's salmon season with the runs of kings and reds at Copper River. Salmon fisheries take center stage all summer and into the fall. That's followed by another of Alaska's premier fisheries - red king crab from Bristol Bay. And so it goes throughout each year, with many other smaller fisheries occurring as well. In all, more than five billion pounds of seafood crosses Alaska's docks each year, worth more than $1 billion at the docks.

Peeking at some price trends, whitefish prices, especially cod, reached their highest level in years in 2006. The jump stemmed from an increase in global demand, especially in Europe; price boosts were also prompted by widespread publicity about the health benefits of eating seafood. Market watchers predict that unless there is a big disruption in supply for major species, of which none is predicted, fish prices this year should remain stable or begin to decline slightly. Analyst John Sackton says buyer resistance to high prices is likely in the U.S. where a weakened dollar will make it more difficult to compete for seafood on the global market.

Biggest buzz word

'Sustainable' was selected as the top word for 2006 by global language trackers, who define it to mean 'self generating, the opposite of disposable.'

The word, long considered a 'green' term, has moved into the mainstream, said the San Diego based Global Language Monitor, which tracks language trends the world over, with a particular emphasis on global English. "Sustainable can apply to populations, marriages, agriculture, economies, and the like", the GLM said.

The term is often applied to Alaska's fisheries, most of which are regarded as models for good management. Alaska salmon, pollock, halibut and sablefish are 'certified' as being well managed, and cod and crab could soon merit an 'earth friendly' eco-label as well. It comes at a fortunate time for Alaska's seafood industry, as mega corporations like Wal-Mart and others the world over have pledged to only purchase seafood that comes from well managed fisheries. - More..
Saturday PM - January 06, 2007

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Basic Rules Get back to the fundamentals of governing By Randy Williams - Sunday PM Airporter By Cynthia Grant - Sunday PM Public critisisms of KIC By Charles Edwardson- Sunday PM Re: Micro-managing a war By Rick Grams - Sunday PM Micro-managing a war By Anita Hales - Saturday PM Basic Roles and Responsibilities in Government By Samuel Bergeron - Saturday PM Point Higgins/ CGB Trail Update By Carrie Dolwick - Saturday PM NTVFD Fee Increase By Mary Henrikson - Saturday PM Richard Jackson for President of KIC & Bergeron For Tribal Council By Samuel Bergeron - Wednesday PM NORTH TONGASS EMS - FIRE FEE INCREASE By Ken Bylund - Wednesday PM The thrill of victory By Chris Elliott - Wednesday PM Tax increase for NTVFD By Jennifer Brewer - Wednesday PM Airport Shuttle CLose Down By Neil Gray - Wednesday PM Airporter Service By Ken Leland and Bob Kern - Tuesday PM Will you get more service with doubled fees? By Ed Fry - Tuesday PM Beware This Credit Card Scam By Sen. Con Bunde - Tuesday PM First we must have honesty By Frances C. Natkong - Tuesday PM Shiites Blew It With Saddam Execution By Mark Neckameyer - Tuesday PM Welcome back By Bill Thomas Sr.- Tuesday PM Truth and Consequences By Glen Thompson - Sunday PM Airporter and Related Needs By Shirley McDonald - Sunday PM Loss of Airporter Bus By Ken Levy - Sunday PM Taxes By Robert McRoberts - Sunday PM Airporter Replacement Suggestion By Shelley Stallings - Saturday AM Airporter service By Bill Thomas Sr. - Saturday AM Ketchikan Indian Community Tribal Elections- January 15, 2007 By Robert A. Sanderson, Jr. - Friday Don't push the taxpayers By Rodney Dial - Friday Thank You Airporter For Your Years of Service By Shannon Nelson - Friday Revised Fuel Price Study By Ken Lewis - Friday Fuel prices By Mary Henrikson - Friday Wood Removal By John Beck - Friday 600 Children By Peter Bolling - Friday Political Sportsmanship By Robert Freedland - Friday First we must have honesty By Carol Christoffel - Friday Community Christmas Sing-Out By Judith Green - Friday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Today's Forecast Satellite Today's Weather Images Marine Forecasts Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map CLASSIFIEDS Auto-post your ad in the proper category, or email your ad & photos to ads@sitnews.us  CLASSIFIEDS' CATEGORIES Announcements For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services January 2007 S M T W T F S 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31       More Front Page Archives

Ketchikan: Ray Troll's Top 5 CDs of 2006 By RAY TROLL - Well I gotta say it truly is getting tougher and tougher to put together a list of complete CDs in this age of downloading and file swapping. I bought fewer CDs this year overall so this list is not comprehensive in the least. It's merely a reflection of the music I enjoyed and spent the most time with.

1. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife

There's been much discussion in the press about this Portland band moving to a major record label and whether or not it would affect their sound and indie credibility. That's all a non-issue for me. It's the music that matters, eh? The album holds together as a suite of songs, three of which are about a marriage between a man and a bird. Ah, you ve got to love the quirk. Yankee Bayonet is written around a dialogue between a dead civil war soldier and his sweetheart ( a duet with guest artist Laura Veirs ). The funky alliteration and clever wordplay throughout is a load o' fun. A few of the songs are over the top tragic tales with a tongue firmly in cheek tone about them ( "O Valencia!" features a vengeful and murderous brother in law). But lest you think it s all fun and games it gets dark and ominous with tunes like When the War Came . Don't just download this one folks. Get the CD with all the cool art and spend some time with the lyrics.

2. Lenine

I was blown away by a song called "Hoje Eu Quero Sair So" ( I Want To Go Out Alone Tonight) on David Byrne's Belize Tropical 2 collection of Brazilian pop music way back in 1999. It was a standout cut with real presence to it performed by a musician and producer named Lenine from Recife along the northern coast of Brazil. Many years later this CD marks his U.S. debut drawing from several of his earlier CDs. It's all in Portuguese folks, so sit back and groove to the smooth sounds and wild mix of Brazilian rock, pop, and electronica. The rhythmic soundscape is deep and soulful.

3. Lindsey Buckingham: Under the Skin

This is the first solo album from Lindsey in over a decade and the 58-year-old sub-geezer's still got it in him. Frenetic guitar riffs are layered throughout this meditative and sonically rich album. There isn't quite the mega-hit in this batch of new material, unlike the days when Lindsey effortlessly penned many a blockbuster for Fleetwood Mac, but it's a beautiful collection of melodies nonetheless. Maybe the lack of a "hit" is a good thing because these tunes aren't trivial fluff. He's also tossed in a couple of fine covers: the Stones' "I Am Waiting" and Donovan's "To Try for the Sun". Lindsey's an underappreciated visionary dreamer - a topic he takes on in the very first cut of the CD, "Not Too Late". This CD is a guilty pleasure for we aging boomers.

4. Regina Spektor: Begin To Hope

Born in Russia, raised in Brooklyn, trained as a classical pianist, Regina has been making waves in music circles for years, but only now has come to my attention here in the hinterlands of Alaska. She's all over the board experimentally, spinning freely between jazz tinged hummable pop songs like "Fidelity" to devastating emotional broadsides like "Samson", a tune that reminds me of Joni Mitchell's masterpiece of confessional piano balladry "The Last Time I Saw Richard". "Samson" uses a mélange of lyrical metaphors from the bible to wonderbread:

Samson went back to bed, Not much hair left on his head
He ate a slice of wonder bread and went right back to bed
And history books forgot about us and the bible didn t mention us - More...
Saturday PM - January 06, 2007