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Ketchikan: Search for 2 missing men near Ketchikan suspended - Monday, the Coast Guard suspended the search for two men reported overdue from a boating trip near Ketchikan. The two missing men have been identified by the Alaska State Troopers as Troy Smart, age 45, and Timothy Staples, age 38, both of Metlakatla.

"We search for every person as if we are searching for one of our own," said Capt. Shannan Greene, commander, Sector Juneau. Greene said several assets executed an exhaustive search effort in the face of adverse weather conditions over two days. "Regrettably, we were unable to locate the missing men despite our steadfast efforts; our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those missing," said Capt. Greene.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Juneau received the overdue report from the fiancé of one of the two boaters at approximately 4:00 AM Sunday. The missing men departed from Mountain Point aboard a 16-foot skiff at approximately 1:00 AM Sunday and were expected to arrive to Cowboy's Camp on Annette Island within 30 minutes.

Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk crews and Coast Guard Station Ketchikan 45-foot Response Boat - Medium crews conducted search patterns Sunday on the southern end of Gravina Island.

An Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk crew located the 16-foot skiff belonging to the missing men capsized north of their intended route in Blank Inlet on Gravina Island at approximately 9:45 AM Sunday. The crew of the good Samaritan fishing vessel Storm Rage righted the skiff and towed it back to Ketchikan.

Alaska State Troopers activated Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad to assist the Coast Guard crews with searches along the shorelines of Blank Inlet and Annette Bay. Members of the Metlakatla Indian Community also searched using their emergency boat as well as ground crews around Cowboys Camp. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 14, 2017

Alaska: Shipment of Unknown Liquid Prompts Recent Marijuana Enforcement Action - A tip from the U.S. Post Office led investigators from the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) to confiscate unapproved marijuana oils from several licensed retail marijuana stores across the state. Post office staff contacted AMCO regarding leaking packages containing over 1,000 vials of CBD (cannabidiol) oil. AMCO investigators inspected the packages and found 20 unmarked vials. The presence of an unknown substance in a package with products intended for human consumption - including syringe-style dispensers, chocolate bars, chewing gum, and caramel-flavored agave sticks—posed a potential public health and safety risk.

AMCO chose to inventory and take possession of the products at retail establishments rather than request a voluntary removal because of public health and safety concerns a particular violation of AS 17.38, which governs the testing, packaging, and labeling of marijuana products such as CBD oil.

Alcohol and Marijuana Control officers visited seven stores in the Anchorage area, one in Kenai, one in Houston, and two in Wasilla. Officers met with business representatives, described why the products were in violation of the law, and explained that the retailers would be notified of the next steps of the process in writing.

“When we spoke with retailers, a few were not aware that CBD oil was a regulated product. However, two admitted that they knew it wasn’t legal and were selling it anyway,” says AMCO Chief Investigator James Hoelscher. “If there is a question about whether a product is legal to sell, all licensees need to do is pick up the phone.” - More...
Tuesday PM - February 14, 2017

HB 115 State Revenue
Restructuring Act

Commentary: Arming You with Facts: Time to Fix the Budget, Protect the Economy By Rep. Les Gara - The following is an opinion piece aimed at giving you information so you can have facts to use as you share your views on the budget and how to move out of our current recession as quickly as possible. As always, call if you have any questions!

Political soundbites that propose easy fixes to Alaska’s massive budget deficit get votes. They’ll also get you one of the worst recessions in Alaska history, and a state where your children can’t find a job. You deserve real information instead of soundbites, so you can tell your legislators the path you prefer. Politicians who seek to get votes while the economy sinks are tempting to listen to, but they are doing you a disservice. We lost 9,000 jobs last year. Letting that continue isn’t a future.

I don’t have the perfect solution and am still listening to you. And I’m proud to be part of a new House majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who, even with different views and proposals, know we have to get Alaskans out of this economic mess now. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 14, 2017

Commentary: Building a sustainable future By Rep. Paul Seaton - On Friday the House Finance committee introduced HB 115 State Revenue Restructuring Act, which aims to fill the deficit in a way that is fair and balanced to Alaskans. This bill addresses three of the four pillars of the House Majority Coalition Plan to build a sustainable future for our state; a structured draw from the permanent fund earnings reserve, new revenue from a broad-based tax, and a sustainable dividend amount. The fourth pillar constrains state spending by making smart budget cuts and reducing the state’s oil and gas tax credit subsidies.

For the past 30 years the state has been tied to highly volatile oil revenues, but oil can no longer sustain 90% of our budget. By relying so heavily on an unpredictable revenue source, Alaska has been subjected to fluctuating periods of growth and contraction. That kind of variability is not just bad for the state budget, it is bad for the economy.

Cuts alone are not the answer. We are already seeing the effect of cuts on public safety and the courts, and in the time it takes to get roads plowed. Continued large cuts would guarantee we would never have the budget to maintain our education system, infrastructure or maintenance to keep it from crumbling. That is not the Alaska most people want to live in. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 14, 2017

COLUMNS - COMMENTARY

DANNY TRYEE: 30 Valentine's Days: Where Did The Time Go - While brainstorming angles for this Valentine's Day column, it suddenly occurred to me that this February 14 will be the 30th my wife and I have celebrated as a couple (combining courtship and married life).

I'm glad I can share this milestone with you. Melissa grows more beautiful every day, but she was initially self-conscious about my trumpeting the three decades aspect. She relented only when she was able to pull some strings in Washington and get me listed on the Federal Cradle Robber Registry.

Perhaps I exaggerate when I say we've "celebrated" 30 Valentine's Days, since we shun ostentatious gestures and keep the holiday rather low-key. We never fully forget the occasion; but some years - what with jobs, parenthood, health issues and such -- we need our memories jogged. ("Valentine's Day - that's the one that comes every fourth year, right? No, wait...there's something about a groundhog having 5 o'clock shadow...") - More...
Tuesday PM - February 14, 2017

DAVE KIFFER: Too good not to be true! - Like the gift that keeps on giving, our former Governor's name has popped back into the public consciousness, primarily because she remains at least peripherally part of the new president's peripatetic posse.

You remember how we all giggled a couple of months ago when her name very-very-very briefly surfaced in discussions about a potential Secretary of State? Yeah, that was a stretch, even for someone who was "Gumby-ied" about as far as humanly possible to be made into a potential Vice President.

All this for "Vice President," a job former VP John Nance Garner once called, "not worth a bucket of warm spit." - More...
Tuesday PM - February 14, 2017

SUSAN STAMPER BROWN: Has This Good Girl Gone Bad? - Apparently, fighting for the soul of America is an unacceptable occupation for believers. I'm also hearing that it is exceptionally inappropriate for former good girls like me, a widowed pastor's wife, who is supposedly nosediving toward Hades because she speaks out against the darkness of these days using her writing.

Of course, those who believe that kind of nonsense are ridiculously deceived. Jesus' command to love our neighbors means many things including getting involved when we see corrupting moral influences affecting families, marriages, and children. When we speak out, we help shape and sometimes lead public policy.

America is suffocating under the weight of former President Obama's eight-year fundamental transformation of the country. Evangelicals, in particular, have been hit hard. There is a reason why most evangelicals voted for President Trump, beginning with the Little Sisters of the Poor and ending with Supreme Court appointments and a thousand other issues sandwiched in between. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 14, 2017