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Alaska: Judge Releases Grand Jury Recommendations on Request for Investigation of Office of Childrens Services - In September of 2016, the Alaska Department of Law received a request to convene a grand jury to conduct an investigation of the Office of Children’s Services in the Department of Health and Social Services (OCS) to determine if OCS was complying with its statutory duties. The request was made pursuant to article I, section 8 of the Alaska Constitution, which allows a grand jury to “investigate and make recommendations concerning the public welfare or safety.” Just as normal grand jury proceedings are confidential, investigatory grand jury proceedings are also confidential under Alaska Criminal Rule 6(l). A judge must determine whether to unseal the recommendations and make them public.

On September 7, 2016, Rep. Wilson (R-North Pole) requested that a Grand Jury conduct an investigation into how the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) and the Alaska Office of Children Services (OCS) are complying with statutory duties.

“I have received hundreds of calls from those touched by OCS in some way and wanting to tell their story,” Wilson said on January 12, 2017. “It is obvious by the lack of action from the Attorney General’s office that they do not want to listen to any of the facts that have been submitted.”

On January 18, 2017, the Presiding Judge of the Third Judicial District unsealed the recommendations of the grand jury relating to the request to investigate OCS. The documents unsealed by Presiding Judge Morse show that the Department of Law presented the request to the grand jury on December 22, 2016. The grand jury issued two separate recommendations signed by the grand jury foreman. - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Alaska: Alaska Opioid Policy Task Force releases recommendations - The Alaska Opioid Policy Task Force has issued a broad set of recommendations to prevent, treat, and support recovery from opioid misuse and addiction in Alaska, as mentioned in Governor Bill Walker’s State of the State address last week.

The task force is a partnership of the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, and Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, together with 20 volunteer members representing stakeholder groups statewide. Task Force members included people in recovery and family members, health care providers, law enforcement officers, rural and Alaska Native representatives, state and local elected officials, and others. The task force began in May and met 11 times over six months to hear from state and national experts and Alaskans statewide.

The task force based its work on the science of opioid addiction and how opioids affect the brain and body. - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Fish Factor: New Alaska seafood products unveiled By LAINE WELCH - Candied salmon ice cream…poke snack kits…salmon bisque baby food… fish skin tote bags and pet oils – those are among the more than 20 new items to be revealed this week at the industry’s most popular annual seafood soiree: the Alaska Symphony of Seafood, where the public is invited to taste and vote on their favorites.

Now in its 24th year, the event attracts commercially ready entries from major companies to small “Mom and Pop’s” who frequently take home the top prizes. Bambino’s Baby Food of Anchorage, for example, won grand prize for its Hali Halibut last winter and is entered again this go around.

The goal of the Symphony is to encourage development of new Alaska seafood products and broaden markets. It gets its steam from a “rising tide floats all boats” push by the forward-thinking, Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, host of the event since 1993.

“How can you beat ice cream,” said AFDF executive director Julie Decker, referring to an entry by retail store Coppa of Juneau, known for using herring roe wasabi and black cod in ice cream. - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Alaska: Important fish habitat formed by slow-growing corals may recover more slowly in a changing climate By CHRISTINE BAIER - Corals provide a refuge for fish, and a new five-year study reveals that one species of Alaskan coral can take 60 years to grow to full size -- and may grow even more slowly in a warming ocean.

Bob Stone prepares to measure a tagged gorgonian coral colony
Photo: Linc Freese, NOAA Fisheries

Managing fisheries means more than managing fish. To keep fisheries sustainable, managers need to make sure the ecosystems that support fish production stay healthy. An important part of Alaska’s marine ecosystems is the corals that create habitat for fish and their prey.

Coral gardens provide refuge for fish, but may be vulnerable to fishing gear and warmer temperatures. How long it takes for coral habitat to recover from injury depends on how fast corals grow and reproduce.

A new study led by Bob Stone of NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center reveals just how slowly some corals grow, and provides insight on how they might respond to seafloor disturbance and ocean warming. - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Alaska: Alaska Joins Multi-State Challenge to Stream Protection Rule - Governor Walker announced last week that Alaska has joined Ohio, West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming in filing a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia today challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Stream Protection Rule based on both the process by which it was developed as well as the content of the rule. Issues raised by the states include allegations that the rule exceeds the federal agency’s statutory authority, infringes on states’ constitutional sovereignty, and is otherwise arbitrary and capricious. At the same time, Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth joined several other attorneys general in sending a letter to Congress urging it to consider using the Congressional Review Act to remedy this problematic rulemaking.

“Within the last few weeks, federal agencies have taken multiple actions that impede responsible resource development in our great state,” said Governor Bill Walker. “This is one of the worst. I sincerely hope that Congress will use its power to overturn it. If not, we are filing the lawsuit to fight it.” - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Alaska: Governor Introduces Bill to Comply with Federal REAL ID Act - Governor Bill Walker introduced legislation today that would bring the State of Alaska in compliance with the federal REAL ID Act, and prevent travel restrictions on residents with a REAL ID-compliant Alaska driver license. Passed by Congress in 2005, REAL ID establishes national standards on the manufacture and issuance of driver licenses and identification cards to improve security and limit the production of false ID’s. Governor Walker’s legislation would allow Alaskans to choose between REAL ID-compliant and regular, noncompliant identification cards and driver licenses.

In 2008, the Alaska Legislature passed a law prohibiting the use of state funds to implement the REAL ID Act. Since the federal government has begun to enforce the law, Alaskans are at risk of not being able to enter military bases or go through TSA security without a passport or federally issued ID. Governor Walker worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to secure an extension to compliance with the REAL ID Act until June 2017. However, the federal agency informed the Governor it would not grant the state any further extensions to comply with the law. - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Alaska: Bill Introduced to Name New State Ferries - Governor Bill Walker introduced legislation today naming two new state ferries that will come into service in late 2017. The two vessels are currently under construction at Vigor Alaska in Ketchikan. As required by Alaska law, each ferry bears the name of an Alaska glacier – the Motor Vessel Tazlina and the Motor Vessel Hubbard.

Last year, Governor Walker and Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott reviewed hundreds of names submitted by Alaska students in an essay competition to name the two ferries.

“I am honored to include Alaska’s young people in the ferry naming process. Just like Benny Benson did when he designed the Alaska flag, these two students are leaving their mark in our state’s history,” Governor Walker said. “I look forward to seeing these beautiful vessels sail in Alaska waters for years to come.” - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Alaska - Canada: The first humans arrived in North America a lot earlier than believed - Although the timing of the first entry of humans into North America is still hotly debated within the scientific community, the timing of the first entry of humans into North America across the Bering Strait has now been set back 10,000 years, dating the first entry possibly as far back as 30,000 years.

Prehistoric Horse Jaw
This horse mandible from Cave 2 shows a number of cut marks on the lingual surface. They show the animal's tongue was cut out with a stone tool.
Photo courtesy Université de Montréal

According to a news release, this has been demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt by Ariane Burke, a professor in Université de Montréal's Department of Anthropology, and her doctoral student Lauriane Bourgeon, with the contribution of Dr. Thomas Higham, Deputy Director of Oxford University's Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit.

Their findings were published in early January in the open-access journal PLoS One.

The earliest settlement date of North America, until now estimated at 14,000 years Before Present (BP) according to the earliest dated archaeological sites, is now estimated at 24,000 BP, at the height of the last ice age or Last Glacial Maximum.

The researchers made their discovery using artifacts from the Bluefish Caves, located on the banks of the Bluefish River in northern Yukon near the Alaska border. The site was excavated by archaeologist Jacques Cinq-Mars between 1977 and 1987. Based on radiocarbon dating of animal bones, the researcher made the bold hypothesis that human settlement in the region dated as far back as 30,000 BP.

In the absence of other sites of similar age, Cinq-Mars' hypothesis remained highly controversial in the scientific community. Moreover, there was no evidence that the presence of horse, mammoth, bison and caribou bones in the Bluefish Caves was due to human activity.

To set the record straight, Bourgeon examined the approximate 36,000 bone fragments culled from the site and preserved at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau -- an enormous undertaking that took her two years to complete. Comprehensive analysis of certain pieces at UdeM's Ecomorphology and Paleoanthropology Laboratory revealed undeniable traces of human activity in 15 bones. Around 20 other fragments also showed probable traces of the same type of activity.

"Series of straight, V-shaped lines on the surface of the bones were made by stone tools used to skin animals," said Burke. "These are indisputable cut-marks created by humans." - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

Columns - Commentary

MONEY MATTERS: HOW MUCH $ IS ENOUGH? TIPS ON GETTING THERE By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - I write a lot about retirement and investing. This is because they go hand in hand, and retirement is generally the biggest financial goal most people have while they are working. I hear people say over and over again that they want to retire early. However, I see the evidence in many cases where those people who do retire early hit the wall a few years later, often because the amount of income that they started out with is no longer enough to live on comfortably. When this happens, early retirement has turned out to be a bummer, not a joy. This can be avoided.

In planning your financial future, whether at retirement or prior to that, it is helpful to study other people who have been successful with their money. Keep in mind that “successful” will mean different things to different people; it does not necessarily mean to become rich. For most people, it is better to be comfortable than truly rich, since being truly rich can be pretty stressful, requiring a lot of ongoing work and responsibilities that most folks want to avoid. Let’s assume that your goal is to simply be comfortable, with a lifestyle that allows you to live the way you want to, doing the activities that you want to do during the rest of your life. Here are some useful tips to consider; they may be exactly the right strategies for you, regardless of whether you want to retire early or not. - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017

DAVE KIFFER: Experiencing the Glamor of Flight - Recently I read about an entrepreneur in Los Angeles who is attempting to recreate what he calls "The Pan Am Experience" for people interested in a different sort of night out.

The idea is to offer folks a chance - for a significant fee - to spend an evening of wining and dining in a mock up of a jetliner cabin.

Yes, I know, you are mocking this up already.

I can hear you snorting and guffawing.

What could possibly be more fun than to sit in a cramped airline seat with no inches of legroom as the grande-sized person in the middle seat oozes over into your personal space while an attendant walks up and down the aisle hectoring you to buy the airline credit card and reminding you to unplug your electronic devices because the plane will be landing sometime in the next two hours? - More...
Monday PM - January 23, 2017