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Monday
February 24, 2014
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The Food Chain
"Wee silvery fish, who nobly braves. The dangers o' the ocean waves...." (Ode To A Herring by Bill o'th' Hoylus End) The hunt for food and the struggle for survival ... One of several harbor seals chasing herring in Thomas Basin on Saturday afternoon .
Front Page Photograph By CINDY BALZER ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Alaska: Work Starts on Critical Arctic Infrastructure Legislation By MARY KAUFFMAN - Last week, the Alaska Senate Labor and Commerce Committee started consideration of a bill designed to boost infrastructure development and create incentives to attract private investment to build much needed ports, roads, emergency and telecommunications projects in the Alaskan Arctic.
Arctic
Photograph courtesy Alaska Arctic Policy Commission
Globally, the Arctic has roughly four million residents with an annual economy of $230 Billion. This is expected to increase in the future. Aside from certain areas in Norway and the western Russian Federation, the Arctic region remains vastly underserved by transportation, ports, communication and other critical infrastructure.
Alaska is the sole reason the United States is an Arctic nation. Alaska holds 56% of U.S. coastlines, and is 1/5 the size of the entire U.S. with 61.8% of its lands under the control of the Federal Government. Approximately 53,000 people out of Alaska’s total population of 740,000 live in the Arctic region, which has a diverse and fragile ecosystem with considerable natural resource potential. Indigenous peoples have occupied the Alaskan Arctic for thousands of years and today account for about 70% of the total population in mainland areas bordering the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. Local, state, federal and tribal governments; Alaska Native Corporations; and industry have been active in the region for decades.
SB 140 considered by Alaska Senate Labor and Commerce Committee last Wednesday came out of work completed by the 26 member Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC), co-chaired by Senator Lesil McGuire (R-Anchorage) and Representative Bob Herron (D-Bethel).
In April 2012, the Alaska State Legislature established the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission to “develop an Arctic policy for the state and produce a strategy for the implementation of an Arctic policy.” According to a 2014 preliminary report by the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, leaders in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Russia and Canada - and even non-Arctic nations like Singapore and China - all see the value of the Arctic. Meanwhile, many Americans still do not realize that the United States is an Arctic nation. Providing relevant information about the reality of the emerging Arctic, understanding and communicating the critical issues that affect this frontier, and instilling confidence in the promise of safety and prosperity is essential as Alaska and America move forward to ensure both.
“The Arctic is our future alongside a healthy oil economy. Alongside the commercialization of our North Slope gas, the Arctic is the third leg of the stool that will be the future of our state,” Senator McGuire told committee members last week. “But without Arctic infrastructure, we will not be able to develop it. We have approximately $100 billion in private capital that we’ve identified through the AAPC, but in order for those private sector dollars to make their way into Alaska, we need some tools.” - More...
Monday PM - February 24, 2014
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Alaska: Murkowski Representing Nation at International Arctic Conference - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) represented the United States of America today at a meeting of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) in Ottawa, Canada. She is working alongside representatives from the other Arctic nations, as they study and discuss emerging possibilities and challenges in the region. Among the topics of discussion today were shipping routes through the Northwest Passage and intelligent investment in the region.
Murkowski with Arctic Council Chair Leona Aglukkaq at the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region on Monday...
Photo courtesy Office of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski
“It is so encouraging and energizing to sit down with global leaders and talk about concrete plans and proactive policies for Arctic nations not only in terms of a prosperous future but also improving conditions for our First Peoples,” said Murkowski. “It is slightly dispiriting, however, that discussions like these are not happening within America’s borders – and I stand committed to building momentum in the United States to position America as a leader in the Arctic when we become Chair of the Arctic Council next year.” - More...
Monday PM - February 24, 2014
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Alaska, North Pacific: What has happened to the tsunami debris from Japan? - The amount of debris in the ocean is growing exponentially, becoming more and more hazardous and harmful to marine life and therefore also to our ocean food source according to the International Pacific Research Center. Measuring and tracking the movements of such debris are still in their infancy. The driftage generated by the tragic 2011 tsunami in Japan gave scientists Nikolai Maximenko and Jan Hafner a unique chance to learn about the effects of the ocean and wind on floating materials as they move across the North Pacific Ocean.
An image of location of different types of tsunami driftage on January 14, 2013
Credit: Nikolai Maximenko and Jan Hafner, International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii
Shortly after the tsunami struck, Maximenko and Hafner used the IPRC Ocean Drift Model to predict where the debris from the tsunami would go. Their computer model is based on trajectories of real satellite-tracked drifting buoys and satellite-measured winds.
The model has now been charting the possible paths of the tsunami driftage for nearly 3 years. The scientists have made a major improvement to the initial model: it now accommodates objects of different shapes and buoyancies that expose different amounts of surface to the wind and travel at different speeds and different trajectories. The model therefore now includes different levels of wind-forcing, simulating the movement of different types of floating debris.
No formal marine debris observing systems exist to verify the model simulations. The model paths for tsunami debris, however, agree with reports of such debris washing up on the shores of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and the Hawaiian Islands, as well as with observations by sailors crossing the North Pacific. - More...
Monday PM - February 24, 2014 |
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Columns
Southeast Sports: Real growing pains By JEFF LUND - The big sports news on Prince of Wales Island is the Klawock boys basketball team. That the defending 1A state champions are winning is not a surprise, it’s the opponents they are beating that has the state taking notice. The Chieftains have beaten Homer (3A), Eagle River (4A), Valdez (3A), Seward (3A), nearly took down Ketchikan and haven’t been challenged yet in conference play. But lost in the shuffle is another developing story which will take years to score.
In the shadows of the “Fab 5” as the five starters are called by some fans, is the Klawock girls team which on game night plays undercard to Tyrus Morgan’s dunks, Sam Rew’s pure stroke and Dylan George’s grit.
Three starters from last year’s girls squad are playing college basketball this year, leaving the Chieftains without the high-scoring studs that led the girls to their own impressive wins over 4A teams last season. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
 DAVE KIFFER: Faster, Higher, Stranger - “You Alaskans must really love the Winter Olympics,” one of my Outside friends recently noted in an email.
“Why so?”
Always answer a question with a question. Trust me on that.
“Well,” she continued. “I mean, you get to watch them do all those things that you guys do all the time.”
Since I had just come in from “skeletoning” down Deer Mountain to get some ice cream from Tatsuda’s, I kind of got her point.
But not really.
“So,” I wittily responded. “I guess that means that you like to watch the Summer Olympics because javelin tossing is like, normal, to you.” - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
 TINA DUPUY: Don't Like Food Stamps? Raise the Minimum Wage - Say you're philosophically opposed to food stamps. Let's say you feel better about yourself by calling those who've hit hard times freeloading parasites. Suppose the very idea someone somewhere may be cheating the system is enough for you to support snatching all subsidized sandwiches out of the hands of your fellow Americans. Imagine that right in the middle of the Great Recession you think feeding the hungry is actually hurting the poor and discouraging them from working. Let's pretend—hypothetically—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the government programs you'd most like to see cut or dissolved altogether. Let's suppose you're the kind of person who's disgusted by the whole thing. "Get a job!" you mutter at the TV when the food stamp issue is broadcast into your home.
Then you should be for raising the minimum wage!
There are 46.2 million impoverished citizens in this country. That's more than the populations of Tunisia, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland and Ireland combined. Of these 46.2 million, about 10.4 million are the working poor. The others are largely elderly, disabled or children. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014 |
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 KGB water tanks & chemicals in our drinking water By Dan McQueen -
I have lived in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough since 1981. In 1989 we bought property and started building our home. At the time there was a local water supply but the water had dirt, bugs, etc. in it. We used it until we got the house up & livable. During that time our local water out here was making people sick, it was even rumored the water killed a baby from a sickness. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
Chloramine in my water for six years and 10 months By Ellen Powell - I have been following this chloramine issue in Ketchikan. I would like to make one small correction to some information in a recent letter to the editor. It wasn't the town council members who stepped down because of a strong pushback from the citizens in Grand Isle Vermont, it was the water board members who stepped down. When people in the Grand Isle Consolidated Water District learned of the skin, respiratory and digestive symptoms that people in my Vermont water district (Champlain Water District) had developed since chloramine replaced chlorine, they fought hard to keep chloramine out of theirs. They prevailed. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
Chloramines To Be Added to Ketchikan's Water By Chris Merando -
The Poughkeepsie N.Y. Water Treatment Facility, which at the time served the village where I live, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., switched from chlorine to chloramine on October 26, 2006. I immediately started having serious reactions to my new water. From showering with it, I began having painful blistery “rashes” on my skin, which only got worse with each shower. I assumed that I needed to replace the Vitamin C insert in my shower filter, but I still had problems after replacing it. I later learned that Vitamin C works well in neutralizing chlorine, but it is ineffective for chloramine. Pretty soon I began having other health issues. I had constant heartburn from drinking and cooking with my tap water. Also I developed breathing problems and began wheezing and struggling to breathe from inhaling the steam in my shower. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
Bus schedule By Walter Grove -
The morning buses northbound are scheduled 2 to 3 minutes apart. If you miss the second bus an hour elapses before you may catch a ride north. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
The Fair Tax (“FT”) INCREASES WELFARE By Stephen C. Eldridge -
The FT’s Prebate is a WELFARE check that leaves many dependent upon the govt for a large portion of their monthly income – a very bad idea. The Prebate is explained as being needed to insure that the poor pay no FT, merely assuming that we all agree with that goal. Further analysis exposes that the Prebate goes much further – it gives the poor a large FT PROFIT. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
Why Democrats Should be for The FairTax By Wiley Brooks -
The FairTax is a plan developed by some of the nation’s most respected economist. It replaces all federal income- and payroll-based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a family allowance to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014
RE: Rezoning By George Lybrand -
With Reference to Marty West’s Letter of 2/12/14: Ms. Marty, as you know, the City of Ketchikan opposed this rezone by a letter to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Planning Department dated 2/3/14. What I found odd about this is that City had no opposition to rezoning the adjacent Copper Ridge property which increased assessments value from $.25/sf to $35.00/sf. Now its not OK to rezone this property and do the same thing? - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Council Ignores Important Information on Chloramine By Amanda Mitchell - As many of you have already signed our informal petition to stop the planned use of chloramine, it is important to inform you that our City Council is not interested in listening to us. They mocked concern and put our future into the hands of a corporation, CH2M Hill, that has clung onto outdated information. According to our Ketchikan Daily Newspaper, Olsen said no one ever spoke out on this issue. I know personally that this is not so and many of you did speak out, but were completely ignored and told misleading information. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Adding Chloramine to Ketchikan's Water By Betty Constuble -
Our city fathers have made a terrible choice in deciding to add chloramine to our drinking water. This is dangerous. It causes health problems and property damage. It will harm our fish as it goes into our ocean. People taking chemotherapy or with HIV are told not to drink this but to take the cholamine out of the water first. But it is nearly impossible to remove it. What are these people going to do? - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Poisoning Ketchikan's well By James Schenk -
What follows is my informed Opinion, thank you for reading further. Several years ago a friend of mine from Ketchikan who works for the Alaska Ferries, informed me of a plan to change the water system in Ketchikan. The problem was not as the old problem that existed with our current water system, a known carcinogen inside the infrastructure installed years ago. No this was a new problem indeed. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
RE: It snows in Alaska By Laura (Attwood) Random -
I read Mary Hemli's letter to the editor regarding the bus not going to Ketchikan Medical Center during a recent snowfall and am certainly offended by her attack on the drivers of the Ketchikan Bus. "We have to quit hiring people who have no idea how to drive in the snow" is offensive and rude. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
RE: Postal Service By Marlene Steiner -
I just got a letter in the mail today that came from a local. It was sent out on the 14th of this month and today is the 19th. I looked at the Meter Post Mark and it was from 99801 which is Juneau not Ketchikan and taking 5 days to get to me. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
NO WONDER By David G. Hanger -
When exactly did you take Darrell Issa’s kool-aid, Mr. Haberman? I am sure most folks see clearly your kamikaze flame-out in attempting to justify a policy you put in place that even as you wrote was being ripped apart by your superiors, i.e. Senator Begich, et al. How many have gone further in their analysis of what you have written, I cannot say, but what you have written convinces me you should be fired because you are obviously not the person for this job. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Circumventing Congress and The Constitution By Donald A. Moskowitz - Presidents have abused their powers by circumventing Congress with executive orders, which could be unconstitutional in many cases. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014
Cannery work remembered By Arnold C Anderson -
Many years ago in 1948 I went to Ketchikan Alaska to work in the Ketchikan Packing Company. I was a college kid out of work and had gone up there at my own expense. It was a time when fish traps were allowed for their last year. The traps were used everyday except Sunday. It was amazing how many fish were caught and were brought in by fish trap tenders. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
Blocked? By Mamie Alexander - I am trying to find out how a private company can place equipment in a State Correctional Institution and charge people subscription fees to receive phone calls from inmates. This happened to me in the recent past. I was told the company had set up their equipment in the facility and in order to receive calls we had to subscribe to their services. I would like to know what has happened to this company, is it still there selling subscriptions and is this why the phones are blocked? Is it legal? 0 More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
Legalizing Cannabis By Alan R.(Rudy) McGillvray -
To all my fellow Alaskans, cannabis consumers or not, yes, horrors of horrors, Rudy smokes and otherwise consumes cannabis? Yes I do, and as such, I have no problem with it other than staying flush with enough cash to maintain my level of consumption, which amounts to 4 grams a month (maybe 8 grams) and it lasts about 3 days. But, that is NOT why I decided to write this. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
18 Trillion Debt By A.M. Johnson -
A lesson in politics: Senator "Murky" Murkowski is about fooling low information voters once again. The Ketchikan Daily News on 2/14/14 reports a Juneau source reporting Senator Murkowski voted against raising the nation debt limit yet again and again. In the reporting the Senator is quoted "Raising the debt limits is an abdication of Congress in addressing the national debt." Well, we have national debt now at 18 Trillion dollars ($18,000,000,000,000,000,000). - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
It snows in Alaska! By Mary E Hemli -
This last week we have had snow in Ketchikan. It is good for our water shed. On Tuesday there was a message up by the front of the Hospital saying the city bus could not make it up the hill so people would have to walk down to Tongass to catch the bus. I am 66 years old and have to be at the Hospital for some antibiotic infusion. I could not walk down to Tongass to catch the bus, what are we doing hiring from Georgia and Virginia? I have never seen the bus not go to the hospital It is a Hospital and the people there are usually sick. I have live here 30 years and this has never happened. - More....
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
RE: Explanation please! By Gina Palmer -
After reading the letter from Kaisa Polanska, I thought I would write and enlighten her as to why KTB has not responded to her "right to know' why the artistic director was let go. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014
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