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Alaska: Governor Dunleavy Unveils Alaska COVID-19 Economic Stabilization Plan; Six point plan protects jobs & families - Edited/Posted By MARY KAUFFMAN - In a live address to Alaskans earlier today, Governor Mike Dunleavy unveiled the Alaska COVID-19 Economic Stabilization Plan, a statewide approach to provide Alaskans with urgent relief and protect the state’s economy from the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“As the virus (COVID-19) and the economic impacts unfold, the plan will adjust to take into consideration new, unforeseen negative impacts,” said Governor Dunleavy. “It must be noted that this is a stabilization plan – not an enhancement, not an attempt to grow government, and not in place to create new programs. Rather, the plan is merely an attempt to mitigate the health and economic impacts as a result of this virus. 

The details of this six-point plan are now available online and according to the Governor, there may be additional stabilization efforts added to the six points outlined today. The Alaska Economic Stabilization Team lead by Former Governor Sean Parnell and Former U.S. Senator Mark Begich, who are in constant contact with the business community of Alaska, will also add suggestions that modify this plan. As this is an ever evolving and unprecedented event, so should be the response,” added Governor Dunleavy.

The six major components of the plan are 1) Immediate Relief for Alaskans 2) Alaska Businesses, 3) COVID-19 Emergency Healthcare Enhancements; 4) Municipalities; 5) School Districts; 6) State Workforce. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Alaska: COVID-19 CASES IN ALASKA RISE TO 13 WITH ONE NEW CASE IN KETCHIKAN; Special Health Mandate Issued for Ketchikan & Fairbanks; Public & Private Schools Statewide Closed Until May 1st Edited/Posted By MARY KAUFFMAN - The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) received information from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) today that there has been a third positive test result for COVID-19 in Ketchikan.

Upon experiencing symptoms of illness, the Ketchikan individual self-isolated and sought testing through the PeaceHealth Medical Center Emergency Room. This individual was a close contact of the first identified positive case in Ketchikan. The individual is an employee of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and works at the White Cliff Building.

On March 17, 2020, following identification of an individual with a positive test result for COVID-19, Ketchikan's White Cliff Building was closed and will remain closed until April 1, 2020. The building has been thoroughly cleaned, sanitized, and disinfected with a commercial disinfectant service. Ketchikan Borough employees in direct contact with the individual are self-isolating at home for a period of no less than 14 days. Borough employees are telecommuting and working from home. 

Upon confirmation of a patient who has tested positive with the COVID-19 virus, nurses from the Ketchikan Public Health Center, the local office of the State Division of Public Health, will conduct a contact investigation with the individual to learn the people that the individual has been in close contact with, regardless of where they were encountered. 

Close contact is defined as: a) Being within approximately 6 feet (2 meters) of a COVID-19 case for a prolonged period of time; close contact can occur while caring for, living with, visiting, or sharing a health care waiting area or room with a COVID-19 case – Or – b) Having direct contact with infectious secretions of a COVID-19 case (e.g., being coughed on).

Public Health then contacts the people identified by the individual but ONLY if they are considered to be a medium or high risk contact based on the information provided. Please see the attached table defining the criteria for the various risk levels (low, medium, high). 

Public Health Nursing and the Section of Epidemiology are working together to contact individuals with High/Medium risk during the positive case infectious periods. After people in the medium and high risk categories are identified, Ketchikan Public Health are also conducting the daily monitoring of those people to ensure that self-isolation is being followed and that testing occurs if symptoms develop. Ketchikan Public Health is working closely with the Ketchikan EOC as part of our local incident management team.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and Alaska public health officials gave an update this afternoon on the COVID-19 outbreak in Alaska and issued two new health mandates. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Fish Factor: Halibut fishermen face flattened market, firesale prices By LAINE WELCH - The Pacific halibut fishery opened on March 14 amid little fanfare and flattened markets.

The first fish of the eight month season typically attracts the highest prices and is rushed fresh to high-end buyers, especially during the Lenten season. But that’s not the case in this time of coronavirus chaos, when air traffic is stalled and seafood of all kinds is getting backlogged in global freezers.

Alaska’s share of the 2020 halibut catch is about 17 million pounds for nearly 2,000 fishermen who own shares of the popular flatfish. A week into the fishery, fewer than 50 landings were made totaling just over 262,000 pounds and, as anticipated, prices to fishermen were in the pits. 

Earliest price reports at Homer were posted at $4.20 - $4.40 per pound, Kodiak prices were at $3.25 for 10-20 pounders, $3.50 for halibut weighing 20-40 pounds and $4 for “forty ups.” Prices ranged from $3.75-$4.00 at Yakutat and $3.50 “across the board” at Wrangell, according to Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. 

The highest prices of $5.00, $4.75 and $4.50 were reported at Southeast ports that have regular air freight service, although they are expected to drop by $1-$2 per pound a major buyer said.

The average statewide price for Alaska halibut in 2019 was $5.30 a pound and $5.35 in 2018.

For this season’s start, some Alaska processors were buying small lots of halibut on consignment or filling existing orders; others were not buying at all.      

“We are tentatively going to be buying longline fish on the first of May after the Columbia ferry gets back on line,” said a major buyer in Southeast who blamed not having traditional ferries that haul thousands of pounds of fish each week, and a lack of air freight options at smaller communities. 

“We’re down here where transportation is dictating where fish has to go,” he added. 

Most of Alaska’s halibut goes into the U.S. market where in recent years it has faced stiff competition from up to 8 million pounds of fresh Atlantic halibut, primarily from eastern Canada. And although Russia has banned purchases of U.S. seafood since 2014, increasing amounts of halibut caught by Russian fishing fleets are coming into our nation. Trade data show that two million pounds of Pacific and Atlantic halibut were imported to the U.S. over the past year through January 2020, valued at nearly $6.7 million.

A major Alaska buyer said: “One of our salespeople shot us a deal showing that right now you can buy frozen at sea, tail off, 3-5 and 5-8 pound Pacific halibut from Russia for $3.25 a pound.”  

Also newly appearing on U.S. shelves: farmed halibut fillets from Norway retailing at $9.99 a pound. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Alaska: Inaccurate details distributed by text about the Alaska National Guard being mobilized for enforcement - The National Guard stands ready to support communities upon request to assist with logistical, transportation and personnel as appropriate. 

However, there is confusion about the Guard’s role, especially due to inaccurate information being distributed to some Alaskans via text message. The messages were also sent to the State of Alaska COVID-19 Unified Command, which received multiple inquiries about fraudulent text messages. 

Variations of the texts all claim inaccurate details about the National Guard being mobilized for enforcement. The Alaska National Guard has not been activated to augment law enforcement activities at this time. Nationwide, there are inaccurate and misleading reports of social media and text messages similar to those received by Alaskans.

“As a partner in the Unified Command with Health and Social Services and Public Safety, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs activated the State Emergency Operations Center,” said Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, commissioner for the DMVA and adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard. “Within the DMVA is the National Guard. We began preparing for potential requests two months ago; I stood up a joint task force, plussed up the joint staff and we identified possible scenarios in which the National Guard may be asked to provide support.

“We train year-round so that we are ready when called,” continued Saxe. “It’s important that citizens understand that we typically augment civilian agency personnel and operations that are already in place, and the National Guard is available for when needs surge which require additional forces and capabilities.” - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Alaska: Alaska Aviation: Precautions are in Place - This week, the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) received inquiries about closing airports. Quoting a news release, the department recognizes community concerns related to the potential spread of the COVID-19 disease due to passenger activity, and at the same time, the need for continued community access across the state.

At this time, all state owned airports across Alaska will remain open and fully operational. Airports are a critical lifeline across Alaska and provide essential life, health, commerce and safety access. DOT&PF continues to monitor conditions closely, and should situations warrant, will coordinate any requests to close an airport with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As of today, the FAA is not ready to approve airport closures.

Quoting the news release, "The safety of our customers, tenants and employees is our top priority. We closely follow COVID-19 developments and strictly adhere to the guidance set forth by the Alaska Department of Health & Social Services, Center for Disease Control and the FAA. This includes using enhanced cleaning protocols throughout airport facilities that are operated by the State of Alaska."

What can you do if you’re flying?

Adhere to COVID-19 Health Mandate 004, issued March 17, and COVID-19 Health Alert 009, issued March 20, that provide guidance for interstate and intrastate travelers. Remember, if you are displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 disease, please stay home, be sure to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, and practice social distancing.

Currently, passengers are asked to self-screen. Some air carriers are doing limited screening, and Alaska Unified Command is working with individual air carriers to recommend expanded passenger screening. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Ketchikan: Tour of Development of Cruise Port in Ward Cove By LARRY JACKSON - I continue my discussion with John Binkley as we tour the development of the mill site in Ward Cove. This was recorded on Tuesday March 10, since then Canada has shut its ports down to ships of over 500 people until July 1. This will substantially effect the Alaskan Cruise season. However this development may not have been online anyway. It becomes a question of long term effects to the industry. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Ketchikan: Opposition to Governor's recall led by John Binkley By LARRY JACKSON - John Binkley takes some time to articulate his opposition to the very nature and grounds of the current efforts to recall Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy.

Binkley considerable business and political efforts lend substantial credibility to this opinion. One might wonder how his life would have been different had he beat Sarah Palin in the Republican Party Primary some years ago. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Ketchikan: What is an ESOP, a company profile of Madison Lumber and Hardware By LARRY JACKSON - Today I talked with emloyees at Madison Lumber & Hardware and we investigate this rumor that employees "own" the company. You may be surprised by the answer. - More..
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Ketchikan: Ketchikan tourism threatened by COVID-19 By LARRY JACKSON - I interviewed a local retail merchant and excursion operator on their anxieties regarding the news that Princess has cancelled sailings and travel restrictions. Most Alaskans are resilient but it may be months, if not years, before things return to normal. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Ketchikan: City and Borough of Ketchikan declare a Disaster Emergency By LARRY JACKSON - The City of Ketchikan, City of Saxman and Ketchikan Gateway Borough declared a disaster emergency this week on the recommendation of the Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC). I interviewed City of Ketchikan Fire Chief Abner Hoage, Ketchikan Emergency Manager, as he clarifies what some of this means. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Ketchikan: Trail Fairy Caught Repairing Coast Guard Beach Trail Bridge By LARRY JACKSON - Coast Guard Beach trail suffered a tree fall on the bridge this winter. I caught the trail fairy on camera yesterday repairing the bridge. (Thanks John. ) - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Village grave led to virus breakthrough
By NED ROZELL
The Alaska village of Brevig Mission lies on the Bering Sea coast west of Nome. The residents allowed a breakthrough in developing a modern vaccine for the Spanish flu of 1918.
Photo By Ned Rozell

Alaska: Village grave led to virus breakthrough By NED ROZELL - One-hundred-two years ago, a strain of influenza virus spread across the globe, eventually reaching Brevig Mission in Alaska. Five days after the flu hit the Seward Peninsula, 72 of the 80 villagers in Brevig Mission were dead.

Through a series of events suited to a detective novel, researchers made a connection between Brevig Mission and the flu virus that helped prevent another outbreak of the 1918 flu, one of the worst epidemics ever experienced.

The 1918 flu, which infected 28 percent of people in the United States, killed 675,000 Americans. More than 20 million people died worldwide, most of them young adults.

Johan Hultin made it a personal mission to find a sample of the 1918 virus he calls “the most lethal organism in the history of man.”

A native of Sweden, Hultin was studying microbiology at the University of Iowa in 1949. There, he overheard a virologist say that the clue to understanding the 1918 flu might be found in the bodies of victims who were buried in permafrost.

Before he returned to Sweden, Hultin made a recreational trip up the Alaska Highway in 1949 with his wife. In Fairbanks, he met Otto Geist, the anthropologist whose work led to the founding of the University of Alaska Museum.

When Geist heard of Hultin’s interest in the 1918 flu, he introduced Hultin to Lutheran missionaries who gave Hultin church records from Alaska villages in 1918. The records included detailed information on the dead, including where they were buried.

Hultin looked at an Alaska permafrost map and selected Brevig Mission as a place that met the requirements of massive flu mortality and frozen ground that might have preserved bodies.

After the sudden fatalities at Brevig Mission, officials of Alaska’s territorial government hired gold miners from Nome to dig a grave large enough for 72 bodies. Driving steam points into the permafrost on a rise near the village, the miners thawed a hole 12 feet wide, 25 feet long and six feet deep. The bodies buried there remained somewhat preserved by the frozen soil surrounding them.

Hultin flew to Brevig Mission in 1951. With permission from Native elders, Hultin, Geist and two Iowa researchers opened the mass grave, marked by two crosses.

Hoping to study the virus to see what had made it so deadly, Hultin’s goal was the retrieval of live flu virus from the lungs of the victims. He removed lung tissue from four bodies, closed the grave, and returned to Iowa. In a lab there, he tried to revive the virus using a number of different methods. After he failed, Hultin resigned himself to perhaps never solving the mystery.

Fast-forward 46 years, to 1997. Hultin, then 72 and living in San Francisco, read an article in the journal Science written by a molecular pathologist, Jeffery Taubenberger. Taubenberger is chief of the viral pathogenesis and evolution section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Alaska: Hidden source of carbon found at the Arctic coast - A previously unknown significant source of carbon just discovered in the Arctic has scientists marveling at a once overlooked contributor to local coastal ecosystems - and concerned about what it may mean in an era of climate change. 

In a Nature Communications paper released today, aquatic chemists and hydrologists from The University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute and Jackson School of Geosciences, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida State University present evidence of significant, undetected concentrations and fluxes of dissolved organic matter entering Arctic coastal waters, with the source being groundwater flow atop of frozen permafrost. This water moves from land to sea unseen, but researchers now believe it carries significant concentrations of carbon and other nutrients to Arctic coastal food webs. 

Groundwater is known globally to be important for delivering carbon and other nutrients to oceans, but in the Arctic, where much water remains trapped in frozen earth, its role has been less clear. Scientists were surprised to learn that groundwater may be contributing an amount of dissolved organic matter to the Alaskan Beaufort Sea that is almost on a par with what comes from neighboring rivers during the summer. 

"We have to start thinking differently about groundwater," said senior author Jim McClelland, professor of marine sciences at UT Austin. "The water that flows from rivers to the Arctic Ocean is pretty well accounted for, but until now the groundwater flowing to this ocean hasn't been." 

The research community has generally assumed that groundwater inputs from land to sea are small in the Arctic because perennially frozen ground, or permafrost, constrains the flow of water below the tundra surface. 

The research published today describes sampling the concentration and age of dissolved carbon, as well as nitrogen, in groundwater flowing beneath the land's surface in the Arctic during the summer. The team found that as shallow groundwater flows beneath the surface at sites in northern Alaska, it picks up new, young organic carbon and nitrogen as expected. However, they also discovered that as groundwater flows toward the ocean, it mixes with layers of deeper soils and thawing permafrost, picking up and transporting century-to-millennia old organic carbon and nitrogen. - More...
Friday PM - March 20, 2020

Political Cartoon: We can slow it
By David Fitzsimmons ©2020, The Arizona Star, Tucson, AZ
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.