Southeast Alaska: Seismologists visits Southeast Alaska in wake of large earthquakes By NED ROZELL - In this cozy Southeast Alaska community that smells of red cedar chips used to power a boiler that heats both the school and the pool, seismologist Natalia Ruppert responded to an hour of questions from more than 150 people who gathered in the auditorium of the Craig High School.

Alaska Earthquake Information Center Seismologist Natalia Ruppert prepares to fly from Ketchikan to Thorne Bay in a DeHavilland Beaver floatplane. The Fairbanks seismologist traveled to small communities in Southeast Alaska in response to a large earthquake in the area a few weeks prior.

The residents of Craig and the outlying areas, many of them wearing Xtratufs and flannel shirts on a rainy/snowy evening, had experienced up to a minute of shaking around midnight on Jan. 4, 2013, the result of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that ripped the sea floor about 80 miles west of Craig.

One-hundred-and-seventy people - about one-tenth of the population of Craig and the nearby village of Klawock, were a rapt audience for Ruppert, an earthquake expert with the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute.

Ruppert traveled to Craig from her home in Fairbanks at the invite of U.S. Forest Service Geologist Jim Baichtal, who lives in Thorne Bay, also on Prince of Wales Island. Baichtal invited Ruppert down, and hosted her at his lovely new home above Thorne Bay, because his “phone was ringing off the hook” after the earthquake and many aftershocks that followed. People were calling one of the few scientists on the island for information; he called north for help. - More...
Friday PM - February 01, 2013

Ketchikan: Attorney General’s Office Warns of Deceitful Solicitation - The Consumer Protection Unit of the Alaska Attorney General’s Office has received reports that an entity calling itself “Corporate Records Service” with an address in Ketchikan, Alaska has mailed solicitations entitled “Annual Minutes Records Form” to businesses in Alaska. The solicitation states that Alaska businesses are required to complete the statement and return it by February 13 with a payment of $125.

Although the solicitation contains a statement that Corporate Records Service is not a government agency, and does not provide services on behalf of any government agency, people may misinterpret the official-looking documents.  

Alaska businesses are not required to do business with Corporate Records Service, and the forms provided by Corporate Records Service are not required by the State of Alaska, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. - More...
Friday PM - February 01, 2013

Viewpoints
Commentary
Opinions/Letters
Basic Rules &
Freedom of Speech

The Loud Whistle By Donald Petrey - Has anyone heard the loud far off whistle when you drive past the Bailey power house? That is the sound of all OUR hard earned money literally going up in smoke, smoke stack that is. I am in the process of going before the Ketchikan city council and asking them to make some policy changes and allow ALL private citizens and businesses if we choose to, to generate part of our own power and supply it back into the KPU power grid. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

Assault on Democracy? By Gene Peterson - Thank you Sitnews for giving me the biggest laugh on the month. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

New Credit Card Surcharges by Retailers By Marvin Seibert - Recently In July 2012, a federal court in New York ruled that merchants can impose credit card surcharges unless states pass laws to prevent it. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

Degradation of Alaska’s clean water By Daven Hafey & James Sullivan - The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council does not support the governor’s proposal to allow the degradation of Alaska’s clean water. The Cruise Ship Wastewater Discharge Permits bill (SB 29 &HB 80) is a flawed piece of legislation that does not adequately address the issues of large passenger ship effluent discharge. Alaskans understand that the average cruise ship can discharge 800 cubic meters of partially treated effluent per day. That means potentially 634 million gallons per season. That is the equivalent of over 19,000,000 bathtubs worth of water with contaminants such as fecal coliform, ammonia, and dissolved metals like copper, zinc, and nickel dropped in the Inside Passage waters. There are numerous issues within this legislation that we find especially troubling. Here are some of the major ones: - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

100 Years of 16th Amendment By Wiley Brooks - February 3, 2013, another day of life in America! Many are excited about the Super Bowl.   Ironically, it's also a day to celebrate “The Super Tax!” Yes, the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 16th Amendment! - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

An American Idea By Glen E. Terrell - The FairTax is an idea whose time has come.  The congress, both House and Senate, republicans and democrats, has demonstrated time after time, the inability to restrain itself with the public purse.  The congress simply can’t govern effectively as long as the income tax is in place.  Even the “fiscal crises” legislation passed by the current congress added $74 billion MORE to the deficit; all to favor special interest groups.  In order to save America, congress must be denied the instrument of its folly; the income tax.  A solution has been filed away in a drawer somewhere by the congress for over 10 years.  It’s called The FairTax. It’s neither a republican nor democrat idea but truly an American idea! - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

RE: What's the Problem? By David G. Hanger - At no time have I ever initiated any kind of dispute with Paul Jarvi whatsoever. Paul Jarvi likes to insert himself into various subjects I present with personal insults to me, a “slay the messenger” tactic rather than dealing with the issues at hand. On Paul Jarvi’s part this is a persistent and chronic problem. What does anything the man put in his memo have to do with the issue of gasoline prices? Not a damned thing. Three sentences, three insults. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

Heros of the Day By Dave Hull - Early Monday evening there was a car wreck near the north end of D-1 loop road. The roads were treacherous and someone ended up over an embankment and was trapped in their car. While emergency crews were attempting to get the driver out, two more accidents occurred in the same general area including a large truck that managed to take the bank on the opposite side of the road and stayed away from the crews working on the wrecked car. - More...
Thursday AM - January 31, 2013

Disregard for the Public Process By Daven Hafey - Public participation is the cornerstone of democracy.  We see it clearly expressed by our forefathers in their description of the ideal government: one that is ruled by the people, for the people.   Unfortunately, the democratic process is under direct threat in Alaska.  There has been a pattern of behavior in the Capitol Building recently, both by the Governor’s office and the Legislature, to whittle away at our revered democratic process. - More...
Thursday AM - January 31, 2013

What's the problem? By Paul Jarvi - Everytime I suggest Mr. Hanger may be wrong in his opinion he confronts me with unkind terms. What is your problem Mr. Hanger? - More...
Thursday AM - January 31, 2013

GASOLINE AGAIN By David G. Hanger - Regarding one's detractors, it is generally appropriate to consider the source, chuckle, and move on. But gas price gouging is a real problem right now, and it does deserve to be addressed right now. - More...
Monday PM - January 28, 2013

Fuel Prices By Linda Hansen- I like the idea also of the co-op for gasoline. I would join! I am tired of being taken advantage by our fuel prices in all areas, but it would be nice to take some kind of stand. If a person could figure out how to get the co-op going it would be nice, not only for gasoline, but for fuel for our homes, boats whatever the community needs are. - More...
Monday PM - January 28, 2013

CBS-SE TV Service By Sandra Rusin McCray - Personally Mr. Cushing, I find your letter unprofessional and plain nasty when you refer to CBS-SE as "going cheap" and "cheap and dirty" when referring to the CBS-SE Network. Personally, I expect more from a City run organization, and a City Employee, that I help fund with my taxpayer money. - More...
Monday PM - January 28, 2013

Ketchikan Humane Society By Heather Muench - The Ketchikan Humane Society would like to thank our community for your generous support for our programs in 2012. We are a 501(c)3 non- profit. All of our members are unpaid volunteers and one hundred percent of the money we raise goes to the animals we rescue. In addition to our rescue work, we sponsor low-cost spay and neuter clinics throughout the year in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted animals euthanized every year in the communities of Southern Southeast Alaska. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

Thank You From the Ketchikan Homless Shelter By Gary Boatwright on Behalf of the Ketchikan Homeless Shelter Board of Directors - As the members of the Board of Directors of the Ketchikan Homeless Shelter, (PATH), we would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Ketchikan for their continued generosity to the homeless in our community. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013 

CBS-SE TV Signal By Ed Cushing - My name is Ed Cushing. As the Division Manager, KPU Telecommunications, I am responsible for KPU CommVision’s technical operations. The purpose of this letter is to respond to Sandra Rusin McCray’s SITNEWS posts dated January 15th & 19th, 2013, regarding a recent temporary outage of CBS-SE (KUBD) on the KPU CommVision network. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013

Review of the B.C.Hydro stream By A. M. Johnson - As a result of a submission on B.C Hydro and related earlier efforts, there has been some inquiry and comments. From the tone and depth of those perhaps a review with further gatherings is in order. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013

New buildings a bit too big? By Marie Zellmer - I have been following the sentiments of people who believe that the new construction projects the City of Ketchikan has taken on are a bit overboard. I have to agree to some extent. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013

Support Angie Taggart & Her Iditarod Dogs! By Hamilton Gelhar - This person, Margery Glickman, has a website that encourages people to send a letter of protest to people who support or sponsor the Iditarod. She operates this website out of the state of Florida. I, along with many other people have been receiving messages that have been copied from her website and pasted into an email. I have asked her to stop the emails and take me off the list. She has refused everybody's request. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

RE: Iditarod dogs By Paul Jarvi - Regarding Ms Glickman's letter, Sled Dogs are breed to run in the snow and pull a weight. If you have ever owned a Siberian Husky with blue eyes like I have you would know this as a matter of fact. These dogs are adapted to the cold, they have two types of fur to keep them warm in the winter and less warm in the summer. I go to Florida on business once a year and notice these dogs in misery being walked on Ms. Glickman's hot humid streets with their abundance of fur. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

Fair Tax By Roy T. Newsom - Congress claims they have to avoid going "over the cliff" financially while they continue to kick the can down the road.  What a joke.  Please publish my letter so your readers can become aware of the real solution to this financial crisis. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

Who will question the government's actions? By Amanda Mitchell - "Don’t bite the hand that feeds you." This simple phrase contains a profound nugget of wisdom, but that many are unaware of. Whoever you are dependent on has power over you and can control you. If you understand this concept, it is not hard to understand the dangers of collectivism. Collectivism pools the resources of many to be distributed by a few. It can wield great power and heavy responsibility. Because of this, most positions of authority attract many seeking personal gain and it scares away the majority of ordinary people. Collectivism, within a government, is not unlike a Ponzi Scheme except many are forced by mandate to give instead of being conned into it.  Collectivism takes choice, freedom and individualism out of the picture and it takes away your right to decide for yourself. Eventually, when an individual questions or tries to break away from the authority of those making the decisions on his/her behalf, those seeking to keep their power try to effectively hinder any opposition. One way is through labeling, symbolizing and dehumanizing. Our country has employed using terms such as "terrorist,” "mentally ill,” or “conspiracy theorist” and others on those brave enough to speak out. - More...
Wednesday AM - January 23, 2013

The Obama Appeasers By Donald A. Moskowitz - President Obama’s recent picks for Secretary of Defense-Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State-John Kerry call into question Obama’s judgment and wisdom and his ability to lead this country. - More...
Wednesday AM - January 23, 2013

Iditarod dog cruelties By Margery Glickman - Iditarod dogs suffer horrendous cruelty every day of their lives. Mushers have drowned, shot, bludgeoned and dragged many dogs to death. For example, Iditarod musher Dave Olesen drowned a litter of newborn puppies. Another musher got rid of unwanted puppies by tying them in a bag and tossing the bag in a creek. Mushers even have a saying about not breeding dogs unless they can drown them: “Those who cannot drown should not breed.” - More..
Wednesday - January 23, 2012

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