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Ketchikan: CHARR Derby Committee Recommends Silver Derby for 2018; King Salmon Derby Canceled - With concerns over chinook salmon stocks throughout Southeast Alaska, the Ketchikan CHARR King Salmon Derby Committee has voted to modify this year’s king salmon derby by holding a silver salmon contest later in the summer.

Chinook salmon stocks in the Unuk River, north of Ketchikan, have not met escapement goals in four of the last five years, despite implementation of restrictive measures in the Ketchikan area since 2014.

Other derbies throughout Southeast Alaska have also been modified or canceled due to low returns, including Juneau, which cancelled their derby for the second year in a row.

“Obviously this is a community tradition going back decades,” said Michael Briggs, Coordinator of the Ketchikan CHARR King Salmon Derby. “Rather than cancel the event altogether, the Derby Committee wanted to find a way to keep the tradition going while taking some of the pressure off the fish. We’re hopeful stocks will rebound in the next year or two, allowing us to resume the king derby. Until then, we hope the community enjoys this event.”

Maintaining the same format as the king derby, this year’s silver salmon derby will take place over three consecutive weekends, including one three-day weekend. The contest will open on Saturday, August 18, 2018 and conclude on Labor Day Monday, September 3, 2018. The king salmon derby has traditionally opened on Memorial Day Weekend. - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018

Ketchikan: Real Property Assessment Notices Mailed - The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assessment Department mailed real property assessment notices on Friday, February 9, 2018. The notices list the assessed value of each taxable property.  Alaska Statutes and Ketchikan Gateway Borough Code of Ordinances require that properties be assessed at full and true value.  

Quoting a news release, the Assessment Department has followed the local real estate market closely in order to determine local value levels.  State and Borough regulations require that errors and omissions be reported to the Assessment Department's attention during a thirty day review period which begins from the date assessment notices are mailed.  Within that time period property owners are encouraged to contact the Assessment Department if they have any questions or concerns about their assessment.  The last day to appeal real property assessments is March 12, 2018.

Senior Citizen/Disabled Veteran property tax exemption applicants must return their 2018 application before March 31st, 2018 in order to be considered for qualification. - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018

Fish Factor: Dutch Harbor Shows Off Massive Seafood Industry to European Buyers By LAINE WELCH - The nation’s top fishing port welcomed seven European seafood buyers in late January – all women – and showed off its massive seafood industry during peak operations at Dutch Harbor. 

The women, whose companies import more than $60 million in U.S. seafood sales, hailed from France, Germany, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, and the U.K., said Hannah Lindoff, international program coordinator for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, which hosted the trip. 

“They are interested in Alaska pollock, cod, surimi, octopus, salmon, roe, black cod and king crab,” she explained.

“The whole point was to show off Alaska and build relationships between these buyers and the seafood industry,” echoed Alice Ottoson-McKeen, the assistant program coordinator who made the trek to Dutch Harbor with the group.

“ASMI often does trade missions, but this trip was really special because it was all women buyers and they could talk to one another about their shared experiences,” she said, adding that the trip was inspired by an inaugural women in seafood leadership summit last summer by Intrafish Media.

The women spent four days in Dutch Harbor (including getting weathered in) at the busiest time of year when Alaska pollock, cod, crab and flatfish seasons are in full swing. 

“They didn’t realize how far away and remote it is. They were in awe of the landscape with no trees and all of the mountains and islands surrounding you,” Ottoson-McKeen said. “It’s obviously unlike anywhere else in the world.” 

The group experienced fish processing action on a massive scale at the Unisea and Westward processing plants, which handle much of the nearly 800 million pounds of seafood that crosses the docks each year.  - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018

Ketchikan: 15th Annual Sam Pitcher Music Scholarship Recipients Announced - Six Ketchikan students will receive Sam Pitcher Music Scholarships to attend Sitka Fine Arts Camp in 2018. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit, goals and musicianship.

The 2018 recipients are: 7th grader Genevieve Hiatt, daughter of Bret Hiatt and Jennifer Simpson; 7th grader Annie Paxton, daughter of Doug and Kacie Paxton; 8th grader Rachel Anne Lomat, daughter of Roberto and Jennifer Lomat; 9th grader Henry Clark, son of Lance and Jessica Clark; 9th grader Abby Gaugler, daughter of Gary and Deanna Gaugler; and 9th grader Josh Ryan, son of Dr. Jeff and Ellen Ryan. The scholarships are for $500 each awarded on the basis of merit, goals and musicianship. - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018

Southeast Alaska: 2018 Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit Feb. 13-14 - The Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit will take place February 13 and 14 at the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall in Juneau.

“The Mid-Session Summit is a great venue to share ideas and engage with other stakeholders on the critical issues we face throughout the region,” said Southeast Conference Board President, Mayor Jan Hill of Haines. “We built this agenda with this year’s theme – Navigating the Southeast Alaska – in mind. In our current climate, we need all hands-on deck to keep Southeast on track.”

The 2018 Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit will focus on how the region can navigate the challenges facing Southeast Alaska. Open to the public, this two-day conference will include action-oriented presentations from over 40 speakers, a Legislative reception and a group visit to the Capitol.

This year’s presenters include Governor Walker, Lieutenant Governor Mallott, U.S. Forest Service Associate Deputy Chief Chris French from Washington D.C., Cruise Line International Association President John Binkley, UAS Chancellor Richard Caulfield along with industry and community leaders presenting information on key regional issues (fisheries closures, AMHS reform, mariculture, the Northwest Coast Arts initiative, the roadless rule, shipbuilding, renewable energy, mining exploration, and regional economic planning). - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018

Alaska: Alaska House Passes Bill to Early Fund Public Education; HB 287 Said to Eliminate Uncertainty for School Districts and Prevent Unnecessary Teacher Layoffs - Monday night the Alaska House of Representatives passed legislation to early fund Alaska’s K-12 public education system. House Bill 287 prioritizes public education by advancing it from the normal budget process. The author of HB 287 is House Finance Committee Co-Chair Rep. Paul Seaton (R-Homer).

“School administrators, school board members, parents, and even lawmakers have looked at education funding with dread because often politics enters the equation and delays passage of the budget. The budget is usually the last item to pass, and that delay creates uncertainty for school districts and municipalities. Districts have repeatedly been forced to give teachers non-retention notices and just days or weeks later rescind those notifications when a budget deal is reached. House Bill 287 represents a better way to budget for public education in Alaska and I look forward to the State Senate quickly considering the bill,” said Rep. Seaton.

HB 287 appropriates $1.32 billion for K-12 public education, the same amount as proposed by Governor Walker, and includes $1.2 billion from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) and $67.8 million from the Statutory Budget Reserve (SBR). The decision to fund public education from the CBR preserves more money in the higher earning Permanent Fund Earning Reserves Account.

“Providing for quality public education in Alaska is among our core constitutional responsibilities and warrants this innovative approach. This bill gives school districts the ability to plan their operations for the upcoming year more effectively and efficiently. Taking the guesswork out of school funding shows that we are serious about doing things better,” said Speaker of the House Rep. Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham). 

School districts and municipalities have had to prepare for funding delays from the State in each of the last three years. In 2015, the budget was passed in mid-June just a couple of weeks before a possible shutdown. In 2016, the budget was passed 15 days after teacher layoff notices went out. Last year, the operating budget was passed on June 22, just a few days before a lack of a budget would have forced a government shutdown in Alaska.   - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018

CHRISTINE FLOWERS: It's Madness to Surrender in the War on Drugs - I recently read a commentary by someone who urged us to stop using the word "addict," because it somehow stigmatizes drug users. We were told not to talk about injection sites, because these city-sanctioned alternatives to the street are not just for heroin users. We were asked to limit the use of needle images, because research shows that they trigger a bad reaction in substance abuse sufferers. 

The essay was well-intentioned, as most are. But after reading it, I got the distinct impression that I was lost in a passage from Lewis Carroll.

I do not want my city to become Wonderland, a place where we change the facts to suit our own perception of what "should be." The express train toward normalization of drug use left the station years ago, and is now heading full throttle toward a place where it is heartless to deny a user clean, well-lit facilities in which to get high. We are urged to look at substance abuse as a disease, not an act of volition or even a crime, and exploit the normal human reservoir of compassion to create dangerous situations for everyone who isn't sticking needles in their arms.

I've lost close family and friends to drugs, both legal and illicit, and I am aware that some people are hard-wired to become addicted to a drug on the first try, while others continue to partake of their preferred substance because it makes them feel good and not because they have a biological mandate. I do not need to walk the streets of North Philadelphia to know what it is to feel the pull of the "dragon." The word "addict" is not a one size fits all label that denotes in neon lights "victim." - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018

JOE GUZZARDI: Lingering Woes in Latest Jobs Report - Wall Street hailed the January 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics report as a big winner. While most of the leading indicators were only so-so - 200,000 new jobs, steady unemployment and labor force participation rates (LFPR) at 4.1 percent and 62.7 percent, respectively, economists shouted out their huzzahs at the 2.9 percent wage growth, the largest in eight years.

But a closer look at the stagnant LFPR and deeper analysis of wage data indicate that economic conditions may not be so rosy after all. The LFPR has been in steady decline since 2000 when it hit its 67.3 percent peak. The BLS has an exhaustive explanation for why the labor participation rate hasn't bounced back. For 15 years, about half a generation, most major demographic groups experienced a decrease in LFP: teenagers, young adults and women - especially those without a college diploma - fell out of the labor pool. The LFPR of working age men 25 to 54 years continued its long-term decline.

Fortune pointed to societal challenges that kept the otherwise employable detached from the labor force. The Brookings Institution research blamed the opioid crisis for 20 percent of LFPR decline. August Princeton University and the University of Chicago scholars contend that video games could be responsible for as much as a 79 percent decline in young men's working rates.

The wage growth spike needs a closer review too - namely to find who's getting those pay bumps and why. As Heidi Shierholz, an Economic Policy Institute labor specialist said, "The wage increases are not being broadly shared." Part of the boost came in the pay scales' low end of the employment spectrum after 4.5 million minimum wage workers in 18 states got pay hikes on January 1. - More...
Saturday AM - February 10, 2018