Rock Climbing
A Sitka Black-tailed deer climbing the rocks above the bypass
Front Page Photo By Mike Smith

Southeast Alaska: Oversight Hearing on DOT's Preliminary Southeast Area Transportation Plan - The Alaska Senate Transportation Committee is holding an oversight hearing on the Alaska Department of Transportation 2012 Southeast Area Transportation Plan (SATP) on Tuesday, April 3 at 1 pm.

 The 2012 SATP outlined several alternative directions the region's transportation system could take in coming years.

Baseline Alternative 1 – Maintain the Existing System
Alternative 2 – Ferry Fleet Capacity Management
Alternative 3 – Maximize Use of Existing Roads
Alternative 4 – Alaska Class Ferries
Alternative 5 – Highway Route 7
Alternative 6 – No Action

Of the proposed Alternatives, "Alternative 5", recommends discontinuing all long distance ferries and replacing them with new roads, new ferry terminals, and corresponding shuttle ferries.

Alternative 5 in the SATP recommends discontinuing the Bellingham run, the Cross Gulf run to Prince William Sound, the Lynn Canal run (the three most profitable runs to the Alaska Marine Highway System), and numerous other runs in the region.  It also proposes the construction of numerous new roads, including a road across Kupreanof Island, another across Baranof Island, and of course, a road up the east side of Lynn Canal. Each of these new roads would require new ferry terminals and corresponding shuttle ferries. DOT has suggested that this new network of roads and shuttle ferries will not only save the state money, but also be more convenient for travelers.

All the preliminary transportation alternatives and comparision of the alternatives are available to the public online and can be downloaded. - More...
Friday - March 30, 2012

Alaska: March 31 Deadline to Apply for 2012 PFD – The March 31st deadline to apply for the 2012 PFD is approaching.  If you are an Alaskan who has not yet filed a 2012 PFD application – apply today!  It is important to note that the deadline is on a Saturday this year, and PFD offices are not open on the weekends.  Those who wait until the 31st to file will need to file online, or make sure mailed applications are postmarked no later than March 31st.

PFD Division Manager Dan DeBartolo encourages applicants to file online, “The online application looks and performs better than ever!” Online applications must be completed before midnight, March 31st, 2012, Alaska Time. - More...
Friday - March 30, 2012

Alaska: Begich, Cantwell Call for Emergency Tsunami Debris Research; Senators from Alaska and Washington Urge Federal Government to Act, After Japanese Fishing Boat Found off Canadian Coast – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Begich (D-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called for a clear federal action plan to address the tsunami debris off the Pacific Coast, following the discovery last week of a tsunami-swept Japanese fishing vessel off the coast of Canada.

In a letter sent today to President Obama, the Senators called on him to allocate emergency resources to mobilize researchers at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help track and respond to tsunami debris. Expediting NSF grants would help Washington and Alaska coastal communities get more specific estimates of what might hit their shores – and when.

Since the Japanese fishing vessel was discovered one week ago – the first major tsunami debris expected to make landfall – U.S. officials have learned that larger debris could reach U.S. shorelines sooner than expected. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is updating its trajectory models to account for objects that move faster from wind, like boats, but more data and better science is needed to track and respond to approaching tsunami debris.

“We need more data and better science to track and respond to tsunami debris already approaching our coasts,” said Cantwell, member and former chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard. “Hundreds of thousands of jobs in Washington state depend on our healthy marine ecosystems and coastal communities. We can’t wait until tsunami debris washes ashore. We need to have an aggressive plan on how we’re going to deal with it.” - More...
Friday - March 30, 2012

Ketchikan: Ten Students Compete at Poetry Out Loud State Finals - From a competitive field of more than 5,400 students across the state, Aryeh Lax from Steller Secondary School in Anchorage received the title of 2012 Poetry Out Loud Alaska State Champion at the state finals held in the Juneau Arts & Culture Center on March 27. The first runner-up was Chaya Pike from Sitka High School.

Lax will receive an award of $200 and an all- expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national championship. His school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. First runner-up Pike will receive $100, with $200 for her school library. Third place went to Whitney Winders from Wasilla’s Colony High School.

The other finalists were Jessica Andersen from Unalaska City School; Reilly Clarke from Lathrop High School, Fairbanks; Jesse Klejka from Bethel Regional High School; Darien Southall from Frank A. Degnan High School, Unalakleet; Brittni Tully-Dapcevich from Revilla Alternative High School, Ketchikan; and Ruby Walden from Tok School.

"Poetry Out Loud is an all-out incredible event. The chance to absolutely immerse myself in these poems--to get inside them, and then try to communicate that connection to an audience--is challenging, enlightening, and transformative. I love that there's this kind of opportunity out there for teens," Lax said. - More...
Friday - March 30, 2012

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