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Ketchikan: Seeking a Road to Somewhere; For nearly a century, Ketchikan has Yearned for a way to drive off the island By DAVE KIFFER - With future ferry service up in the air and the price of both barge shipping and air travel on the rise, you could certainly forgive Ketchikan residents for wistfully wondering how life would be different in Southern Southeast if a road connected Ketchikan to the rest of the continent.

To be sure, even if there was a road it would be at least a 1,500-mile trip to drive from Ketchikan to Seattle but that's the not the point. You could do it, even if it took several days.

It was during the expansion of the canned salmon industry in the 1920s and early 1930s, that the federal government began considering "connecting" Alaska to the rest of the country. Thomas MacDonald, who would run the Bureau of Public Roads from 1919 to 1953, first proposed a "coastal" highway between Seattle and Southeast Alaska in 1925.

The Bureau studied the idea but a brief survey determined that crossing so many bodies of water along the coast would necessitate between 130 and 150 bridges, some of a size that hadn't yet been built. There was also the complication that most of the route would be through British Columbia. At the time, the Canadians were not interested in the development of a coastal road as the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad had only reached Prince Rupert a few years before and Canada had little need to access what was the generally empty coast north of Vancouver Island.

But MacDonald would not let the idea go and began looking at the possibility of a more inland route that would go north from Prince George and connect with northern Alaska. Southeast would not be left out. The preferred route, as far as MacDonald was concerned, would be through the Cassiar area in the headwaters of the Stikine River and would allow for a spur road to go down the Stikine connect Wrangell, Petersburg and eventually Ketchikan and Juneau as well.

Once again, the Canadians were less than enthusiastic, feeling that the cost to connect the Yukon would not be worth it. But then in 1929, Canada suggested an inland route between the two countries to boost tourism and economic development.

Then the Great Depression hit and the feasibility and expense of such a road came into question. President Herbert Hoover appointed a commission to consider the link. The board concluded the project could be built for just under $15 million dollars ($256 million in 2020 dollars) and suggested the US contribute $2 million to the project. The Canadians were looking for a larger American investment and the proposal died.

Then MacDonald gained a very important ally in his efforts to link Alaska with the rest of the continent by road: The United State Military. By the mid 1930s, it was clear that Alaska was becoming a crucial regional bulwark against militarism in both Japan and the Soviet Union. Were the US to go to war against Japan, officials believed, that Alaska could be an important battle ground and having to supply the territory by sea would leave it open to a possible naval blockade.

But, yet again, the Canadians balked. The Canadian leadership at the time was concerned about being drawn into a Pacific War and was worried that allowing the US to supply Alaska via Canadian territory would compromise any attempts at Canadian neutrality should war break out.

Still, the United States continued to press for the road and President Franklin Roosevelt privately and then publicly advocated for the road in a speech in Chataqua, New York in 1937.

Of course, this all became academic when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the US joined the war that Canada was already involved in as part of the British Empire. During the war, the 1,300-mile Alaskan highway was built between British Columbia and Northern Alaska in less than a year. The United States covered half of the $30 million cost of the road. Interestingly enough, even with the road in place more than 90 percent of the war material that was shipped to Alaska in World War II still came by ship and not the new highway.

During the war, Southeast also got its first "access" when a spur line connected Haines Junction on the Alaska Highway with Haines on Lynn Canal. The road was built to allow a second military shipping option to the White Pass Railway in Skagway in case the Japanese attempted to take out the railroad.  A road through the White Pass to Skagway was originally started in the 1950s but was not completed until the Klondike Highway reached Skagway in 1979.

A third Southeast access point opened up at Hyder in Portland Canal on the Canadian border when Canadian Highway 37 was extended into neighboring Stewart, BC in 1984. Highway 37 - which goes from north of Terrace into the Yukon Territory - mirrors the route that MacDonald had wanted to open up in the early 1930s through the Cassiar area.

When Hiqhway 37 opened in the 1980s it also spurred interest in Southern Southeast Alaska. Maybe it would be possible to run a road up one of the Alaskan river valleys and connect with the Canadian highway? Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan would be on the road system after all.

Roads up the valleys of the Stikine and Unuk rivers had been tried in the early part of the 20th Century, mostly by mining interests trying to better access the interior gold fields on the Canadian side of the border. But nothing permanent had been built. Ketchikan miner James Hart had built a very early trail/pioneer road up the Unuk in 1901 to access his claims on the Sulpherets River off the Unuk. The Ketchikan-based Daly family then built a larger pioneer road up the Unuk in 1911, also to access mining claims inland.

Two decades later, mining engineer Arthur Skellhorne told the Ketchikan Chronicle in 1931 that he had travelled the length of the Unuk and the Iskut rivers and felt that a road could easily be built up those basins and into Canada. He noted that it would also be possible to build a road up the Chickamin River, but that it would be more difficult than a Unuk route. Skellhorne also noted that a road into the up the Unuk would follow a pioneer road built around 1910 and would access valuable mining claims on both sides of the border.

The biggest challenge, Skellhorne said, was building a road to the back side of Revillagigedo and then establishing a ferry across Behm Canal to the Unuk. - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

Fish Factor: Significant opportunity to grow Alaskan's ocean economy By LAINE WELCH - New ocean-related jobs, investments and opportunities will be seeded by an ambitious Blue Pipeline Venture Studio that connects marine business entrepreneurs with the technology, contacts and finances they need to grow.

“The state's blue economy includes anything that takes place on the water, most prominently the seafood industry, along with marine recreation, maritime research, waterborne transportation and much more,” said Garrett Evridge, a well-known fisheries economist previously with the former McDowell Group and new research director for the Venture Studio.

“There is significant opportunity to grow the Alaskan ocean economy,” he added. That might come from refinement of existing industries, getting more value out of salmon, for example, or support for new industries like growing seaweeds, or just being prepared for  opportunities that aren't even on the radar. Like what's going to happen in 10, 20 or 30 years. What can we do now to position ourselves for success? We have a lot of challenges and opportunities that we know are headed our way, like climate change and ocean acidification. What's our plan for those? It's part of growing a culture that can embrace change and identify opportunities.”

The nonprofit Venture Studio is the first statewide program of the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association’s Ocean Cluster that launched in 2017. It is modeled after a venture led by Iceland in 2011 that now includes over 50 clusters around the world.

Last fall, the BSFA received a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration with matching funds to help jump start ocean businesses and pump $1.2 million into Alaska’s ocean economy. Grant partners include the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Moonbeam Exchange, AKWA-DC, and the Pacific North West Economic Region.

Evridge said many people have great business ideas but they don’t have the time or know where to start. The Venture Studio will serve as a sort of “matchmaker” to connect them with capital, expertise and connections to get off the ground.

“Some of the first things we will do is focus on all of the previous research that is available and then try to identify the roadblocks of why this specific industry has not grown,” he said.

“One reason that I came aboard is the opportunity to focus on what other industries have learned that is applicable to us. The fruit industry, for example, has some pretty strong parallels with seafood processing with the picking and identification and inspection of apples. There are applications in the agriculture realm that are very relevant. But so many entrepreneurs or existing stakeholders don't have the opportunity to focus on those things.”

Evridge said his team, which includes Taylor Holshouser as director of business development, will focus most of this year on developing a robust Venture Studio and building a platform capable of delivering jobs, investment, and opportunities across Alaska.

On a related note, NOAA Fisheries last week announced its “Blue Economy Strategic Plan” that aims to, among other things, “collaborate with partners to support the growth of American business and entrepreneurship that contributes to the development and sustainability of the blue economy across the U.S. that will help accelerate the nation's economic recovery.”

The agency added: “The United States is an ocean nation, and our future prosperity and security depend upon the understanding, health, and sustainable use of our Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes.”

NOAA said it intends to expand and strengthen the Blue Economy effort by leading agency-wide initiatives in marine transportation, ocean exploration, seafood competitiveness, tourism and recreation, coastal resilience, aquaculture and developing an American Seafood Campaign, to name but a few. - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

Alaska: Oil and Gas division recommends Mt. Spurr geothermal exploration - Developing geothermal resources underneath Mount Spurr would be in the best interest of the state, which should approve permits for such development, says the director of the state Division of Oil and Gas.

The division issued the “Mount Spurr Noncompetitive Geothermal Prospecting Permit” on Dec. 22, giving Raser Power Systems, LLC, a Utah-based geothermal drilling company, the exclusive right to prospect for geothermal resources on about 6,750 acres of state land for two years.

Mt. Spurr is a volcanic island about 80 miles west of Anchorage, whose eruptions in 1952 and 1992 tangled air traffic and blanketed the region with ash, but also reminded the state of the immense geothermal energy underlying the Aleutian Islands along the Pacific Ocean’s volcanically active “Rim of Fire, said Tom Stokes, director of the Division of Oil and Gas.

“While Alaska produces immense amounts of energy in the form of oil and gas, we also have significant geothermal energy resources that could be developed for the common good,” Stokes said. “After a thorough consideration of the potential positive and negative aspects, we believe Mt. Spurr is a promising development opportunity, and we’re gratified to see commercial interest in these permits.” - More...
Wednesday PM - January 20, 2021

Alaska: Multi-Agency Drug Interdiction Team Nabs Alaska Drug Traffickers - The Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team arrested two Utqiagvik residents on federal drug trafficking charges after a suspicious parcel was intercepted at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. On January 12, 2021 US Postal Inspectors identified a suspicious parcel in transit to Utqiagvik from Arizona. Upon further investigation, approximately 200 M30 fentanyl pills were identified inside the parcel. M30 fentanyl pills sell for approximately $100 per pill in Utqiagvik. 

On January 15, 2021 members of the Trooper’s Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team, US Postal Inspectors, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents traveled to Utqiagvik aboard a US Coast Guard Aircraft to conduct a controlled delivery operation. With the assistance of the North Slope Borough Police Department, 41-year-old Utqiagvik resident Bryon McFadden and 30-year-old Utqiagvik resident Roberta Sielak were arrested on federal drug trafficking charges including: conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and attempt to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute. Both were transported to Anchorage where they were remanded. 

“Disrupting the sale, trafficking, and distribution of illegal narcotics in Alaska is a top priority of the Department of Public Safety and our many law enforcement partners across the state,” said Colonel Bryan Barlow, Director of the Alaska State Troopers. - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

Alaska: President places temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing activities By MARY KAUFFMAN - Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a statement on Wednesday’s decision of incoming President Joe Biden to halt oil and gas activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The decision by President Biden follows the historic lease sale held on January 6, 2021.

On January 6, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held the first lease sale for lands in the 1002 Area of ANWR. On January 19, BLM announced the signing and issuing of leases on nine of the tracts that received qualifying bids from the lease sale. Results of the January 6 lease sale are available on BLM’s website.

Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy said in a prepared statement the announcement to shut down development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) should come as no surprise. As a candidate, Joe Biden campaigned on stopping oil and gas development on federal lands. Make no mistake about it, President Biden appears to be making good on his promise to turn Alaska into a large national park.

"Alaska does responsible oil and gas development in the Arctic better than anyone, and yet our economic future is at risk should this line of attack on our sovereignty and well-being continue. Development in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, building roads to resources, the mining of critical minerals & rare earths, connection to life saving air transport for villagers in King Cove and more are all in the hands of an Administration that looks at Alaska as a territory or colony, as opposed to an equal State in the Union," said Governor Dunleavy. 

Dunleay said, "During the 20 years I spent in rural Alaska, I saw firsthand the pain we cause when we deny our fellow Alaskans the right to pursue opportunity. Not only do these projects have the potential to responsibly develop Alaska’s abundant natural resources –  of which there is a demand that would be driven to countries with lower environmental standards – these projects bring good-paying jobs, quality healthcare, and lifechanging possibilities to communities who need it most."

Governor Dunleay said he is prepared to use every resource available to fight for Alaskans right to have a job, and have a future by taking advantage of every opportunity available to us.

“[Wednesday], President Biden announced that he will pick up where the Obama administration left off by conducting a review of multiple rulemakings that are critical to Alaska and by placing a temporary moratorium on leasing activities in the Coastal Plain. At a time when the United States, and especially Alaska, is struggling to deal with the impacts of COVID-19, I am astounded to see that the Biden administration’s “day one” priority is put our economy, jobs, and nation’s security at risk,” said U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Murkowski said, “Not only has Alaska proven time and time again we have the highest environmental standards when it comes to our responsible resource development but this right was guaranteed by the federal government more than 40 years ago when ANILCA was enacted. It is time to hold true on this long overdue promise. In 2017, I was proud to author Title II of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which opened just 2,000 acres of our 365 million acre state to responsible energy development. In the past month, we have seen significant progress with the sale, signing, and issuing of leases in the non-wilderness 1002 Area. The Biden administration must faithfully implement the law and allow for that good progress to continue.” - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

The proposed $15 per hour minimum wage would rise with inflation. The current minimum wage in Alaska is $10.34 per hour, up just 59 cents over a five-year period from $9.75 in 2016. According to the U.S. Census, 80,012 Alaskans—10.1 percent of the state’s population—struggled against poverty in 2019.

Representative Tarr’s wage disclosure bill would prohibit employers from inquiring into a job applicant’s wage history. Current law allows employers to discriminate against applicants by offering wages that they think an applicant will accept given their apparent race, gender or other identity marker.

“The pandemic revealed the deep failures in our economy and confirmed that many Alaskans are living on the edge of subsistence. I am reintroducing both an equal pay and minimum wage bill and a wage disclosure bill because these are two ways that Alaska can help lift families out of poverty, move toward a living wage and make our economy fairer for everyone.” - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

National: Bipartisan Resolution Announced to Affirm Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment - U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that the first bipartisan legislation they will introduce for the 117th Congress is their joint resolution to remove the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Ratification of the ERA would expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in the U.S. Constitution. In the House of Representatives, the resolution is being introduced by Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY).

Almost exactly one year ago, in January 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, which was first proposed in 1972. Congress has the authority under Article V of the Constitution to set and change deadlines for the ratification of constitutional amendments, and has done so on numerous occasions. In 1992, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting immediate congressional pay raises, was successfully ratified after 203 years. That amendment was initially proposed as part of the original Bill of Rights in 1789. 

“This is an historic and monumental step forward for all 94 percent of Americans who agree that women should have equal rights in our Constitution. In a time of deep division, here is something we all agree on: there can be no time limit on equality,” said Carol Jenkins, President of the ERA Coalition. - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

RICH MANIERI: SEARCHING FOR UNITY IN A SEA OF EXCLAMATION POINTS - An email laced with exclamation points is never a good sign. At least not if you’re me.

In my world, exclamation points usually follow words such as “idiot!” or “communist!” I take issue with the latter though the former is certainly up for discussion.

Moreover, when the salutation itself is followed by an exclamation point, as it was in a recent email, I know it’s trouble. “Mr. Manieri!”

Inside voice. I’m right here.

This particular writer went on to make several assumptions about my intellect, or lack of. He ended with a call to action. “Defend your character!” - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

MICHAEL REAGAN: WITH PRESIDENT JOE, IT’S DIVIDED WE STAND - veryone agreed the inauguration ceremony was nice.

Lady Gaga was Lady Gaga. Garth Brooks was Garth Brooks.

Everyone also agreed President Joe Biden’s speech was nice.

Nothing plagiarized. Nothing too fancy. Nothing that presidential historians will be quoting a month from now.

Biden’s call for national unity and political healing was widely praised by Democrats, the mainstream Democrat media and even some easily impressed Republicans.

But what did our new unifier-in-chief do as soon as he got control of the presidential pen? - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

JOHN L. MICEK: BIDEN’S BENEDICTION FOR A DIVIDED AMERICA - Joe Biden didn’t have to do a lot with his inaugural address Wednesday, just deliver a concise, clear speech that somehow knit together the soul of a deeply fractured nation. He needed to offer healing and comfort to the hundreds of thousands of Americans whose lives have been ripped apart by the COVID-19 pandemic while sketching out a vision for the next four years that spoke to both Main Street and Wall Street.

In other words, no pressure.

But Biden, a politician with the soul of a parish priest, pulled it off, delivering a speech that appealed to the nation’s better angels. He accomplished this while not shying away from the titanic challenge of healing the gaping wound that his predecessor ripped in our body politic with four years of gaslighting, and sledgehammer attacks on our institutions.

Where his predecessor nursed grievance and exacerbated division, Biden on Wednesday sought reconciliation and, perhaps, even a kind of forgiveness.

“And so today, at this time, in this place, let us start afresh. All of us. Let us listen to one another. Hear one another. See one another,” Biden said in remarks that stretched an economical 20 minutes. “Show respect to one another. Politics need not be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated, and even manufactured.” - More...
Saturday - January 23, 2021

Political Cartoon: Biden Harris Inauguration 2021
By Dave Granlund ©, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.

Political Cartoon: Hank Aaron Tribute 1934-2021
By Dave Granlund ©, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.

Political Cartoon: Larry King 1933-2021
by Dave Granlund ©, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.