Alaska: President Calls On Congress to Open ANWR - Alaska's Congressional Delegation - Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Lisa Murkowski, and Congressman Young - today praised President George W. Bush for calling on Congress to open ANWR.

President Bush told reporters that the answer to high gas prices is more domestic production, an argument the Congressional Delegation has advanced for years.

"One of the main reasons for high gas prices is that global oil production is not keeping up with growing demand," said President Bush in a press conference at the White House. "Members of Congress have been vocal about foreign governments increasing their oil production, yet Congress has been just as vocal in opposition to efforts to expand our production here at home. They've repeatedly blocked environmentally safe exploration in ANWR. The Department of Energy estimates that ANWR could allow America to produce about a million additional barrels of oil every day, which translates to about 27 millions of gallons -- gallons of gasoline and diesel every day. That would be about a 20 percent increase of oil -- crude oil production over U.S. levels, and it would likely mean lower gas prices. And yet such efforts to explore in ANWR have been consistently blocked." - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Ketchikan: UAS Ketchikan Graduation May 3rd - Graduation for eligible University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan students will be held Saturday, May 3 at 3:00 PM at the Ted Ferry Civic Center.

More than a dozen students will participate in commencement exercises this year in Ketchikan. The commencement keynote speaker is University of Alaska Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Daniel Julius. University of Alaska Southeast Chancellor John Pugh, University of Alaska Southeast Provost Roberta Stell, and Vice Provost James Everett will attend the ceremony, as will University of Alaska Board of Regents members Carl Marrs of Anchorage, Bob Martin of Juneau, and Kirk Wickersham of Anchorage. Also attending are University of Alaska Ketchikan faculty and campus director Cathy LeCompte. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Alaska: Report Says Alaska Will Lose 300 Jobs Due to Medicaid Cuts - Medicaid rule changes put in place by the Bush Administration will cost Alaska more than $88.2 million in federal funds over the next five years according to a national organization for health care consumers. The cut in federal funding will, in fact, act like a giant anti-stimulus package says a report released today by Families USA. Those lost Medicaid funds will eliminate an estimated 300 jobs and an accompanying $12 million in wages, and, even worse, cost the state an estimated $32.9 million in lost business activity.

Virtually all that economic pain comes in the first year of implementation, when Alaska would fail to receive approximately $17.4 million in Medicaid payments, says the report. Titled "Bad Medicine," the report analyzed the economic impact of seven new Medicaid regulations that were issued in 2007.

"The devastation caused by the Administration's cuts will affect millions of people who rely on Medicaid for their health lifeline. This will be tragic for their families," Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, said today.

"Additionally, these cuts will harm state budgets at the worst possible time. These cuts in federal Medicaid payments will have a ripple effect through state economies that are already struggling during this economic downturn. This economic harm will increase the number of people who may need Medicaid, as hundreds of Alaskans see their paychecks being cut or their jobs being eliminated. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

National: House Dems putting together a 'tough sell' war bill By ZACHARY COILE - House Democratic leaders are putting together the largest Iraq-war spending bill yet, a measure that is expected to fund the war through the end of the Bush presidency and for nearly six months into the next president's term.

The bill, which could be unveiled as early as this week, signals that Democrats are resigned to the fact they can't change course in Iraq in the final months of President Bush's term. Instead, the party is pinning its hopes of ending the war on winning the White House in November.

"It's going to be a tough sell to convince people in my district that funding the war for six months into the new president's term is the way to end the war," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., a leader of the Out of Iraq Caucus who plans to oppose the funding. "It sounds like we are paying for something we don't want."

The bill is expected to provide $108 billion that the White House has requested for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawmakers who are drafting it say it also will include a so-called bridge fund of $70 billion to give the new president several months of breathing room before having to ask Congress for more money. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

National: Border fence projects -and costs - accelerate By BRADY MCCOMBS - The fencing of Arizona's international border continues at an unprecedented speed and cost.

Private contractors have been paid $279 million by the Department of Homeland Security to construct 58 miles of primary fence -- fencing meant to stop people on foot -- and 32 miles of vehicle barriers in the past nine months, figures from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show. The projects are part of an effort to complete the construction of 670 miles of fencing and barriers by the end of 2008.

By the end of the year, nearly 110 of Arizona's 350 miles of U.S.-Mexican border are scheduled to have primary fences -- more than seven times the 15 miles of two years ago, Homeland Security environmental assessments show.

Homeland Security officials acknowledge that the 15- to 18-foot-high barriers aren't a panacea but say they are a key element in the strategy to slow illegal immigration through the Southwest border's busiest stretch. Border-security proponents applaud the efforts and say fencing is long overdue. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

International: Rice panic grips even major producer of the staple By GEOFFREY YORK - The mob of shoppers had been waiting patiently for their promised rice for more than an hour, and now the mood was beginning to turn ugly.

Nearly 150 customers surged toward the supermarket's storage room, while security guards wielded wooden sticks to try to keep order. "Please don't panic like this," a clerk begged the crowd.

As the chaotic queue grew longer, the crowd became angrier. "Why does the government say there is rice here, but there isn't any rice?" one man shouted. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Alaska Science: The singing sparrows of Shishmaref By NED ROZELL - This just in from Shishmaref science teacher Ken Stenek: On this late April day, two house sparrows are singing their little hearts out while perched on the metal roof of the Shishmaref School. This is unusual, because the closest brethren of the tiny birds are at least several hundred miles away, with most of the population many thousands of miles away.

Stenek, who for the last decade has lived in the village on the exposed sand spit just above the Bering Sea, saw a group of about five birds near the school last October. At least two of them seem to have survived a harsh winter in the windy village, and birders have taken note.

The "house sparrow is a very rare visitor anywhere in Alaska, with only a few records in the state," wrote renowned birder David Sibley on his blog.

"Interestingly, one of the few prior Alaska records comes from Gambell, on St Lawrence Island, in mid-summer about 15 years ago. So the question is whether these (Shishmaref) birds, at the very western edge of Alaska, came from North America or Asia."

House sparrows are one of the most common birds in the Lower 48, but they don't normally occur farther north than about Fort Nelson, British Columbia. The same species occurs in Asia, but thousands of miles southwest of Alaska.

Stenek first identified the Shishmaref sparrows when he e-mailed a photo to Dan Gibson, an ornithology research associate at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Gibson replied: "Where in the world did you get those pictures of house sparrows?" - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report (Updated) AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Today's Forecast Satellite Today's Weather Images Marine Forecasts Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map CLASSIFIEDS Publish ad Please select the proper category before posting. CLASSIFIEDS' CATEGORIES Announcements and       Help Wanted For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services Publish your ad   Front Page Archives April 2008 S M T W T F S 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30       More Front Page Archives

RE: KPU SALE AND LIQUIDATION By Scott Willis - So who owns KPU?

The City Of Ketchikan dba Ketchikan Public Utilities. It is the City registered voters that can sell or stop the transfer of KPU Telephone in an election.

How much money are we talking about? - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Keep Asking Questions By Al Johnson - Ms. Dahl raised continued concerns regarding the mill site. As a wood burner, I too have taken to watching the clean up. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Veneer Mill "Maintenance" By Jerilyn Lester - I agree, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. How long are we going to put up with the KGB being soft where this mess is concerned? Although this is the same bunch that gave our emergency money to a group of men headed up by a man that never makes things work. This man had a logging company in the area and it went belly up after it wouldn't support his big salary. Again the venture went belly up when the very large salaries of the executives could not be supported. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

HELP WANTED By Bill Gass - One of the recurring themes in this forum has been the lack of recreational opportunities for young people in Ketchikan. Next week over 200 kids ranging from age 5 to 18 begin play in Ketchikan Little League and we are in need of umpires. Requirements include decent vision, selective hearing and a thick skin. Baseball knowledge is a plus. Compensation consists of a burger, fries, cold beverage and a heartfelt thank you. - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

President Don Young By Peter Stanton - Browsing through the letters here I happened upon the idea that "What we need is someone like Don Young in the White House[.]" This idea truly struck me. It's amazing. A Don Young Presidency might be an unprecedented event in the history of these United States! - More...
Tuesday - April 29, 2008

Veneer Mill "Maintenance"? By Mary Lynne Dahl - Is this the "maintenance" that Jerry Jenkins claimed to be doing at the veneer mill site? It looks more like WWII to me! Buildings have been stripped of their valuable components and horrific piles of wasted lumber that could be given to the community for wood stoves are laying around, in addition to whatever else is in those piles. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

Cha-Ching... By Jackie Williams - The KGB needs new offices, and this is a fact. The Reid Building is a health hazard, and this is a fact. We the citizens are going to pay for it, and this is a fact. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

Gateway By Ruth Bullock - As a former employee of Gateway Center for Human Services, and a former Ketchikan resident, it saddens me to hear of Gateway's apparent disintegration. It has been a couple of years now since I worked there, and it sounds like things have changed in that time. But I would like to comment on some of what I was aware of during my employment at Gateway. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

Getting rid of unwanted catalogs By MJ Cadle - I just want to share with everyone website I have found invaluable in the last few months in my efforts to cut down on the number of unwanted catalogs I receive. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

The Right Wing Conspiracy By Joel Galli - I've come to realize that those on the right are, in fact, not stupid, as I previously believed. - More...
Sunday - April 27, 2008

KPU SALE AND LIQUIDATION By Pete Ellis - So who owns KPU? City residents? KPU rate payers? Local government bureaucracies? How much money are we talking about? -More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Gateway By Elisa Rossi Max - After reading a recent article about Gateway Center for Human Services in which the clinicians were described as people not doing their job, I feel compelled to respond. I worked at Gateway from June 19, 2006 to April 4, 2008 as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. During that period, I was on-call at least one week per month. The on-call days were not as the newspaper indicated ( a full eight hour shift ), but instead were full twenty-four hour shifts, beginning Friday at 5:00pm and ending the following Friday at 5:00 pm for a total of one hundred sixty eight hours. As clinical staff vanished, the on-call responsibilities increased. In March 2008, I was on-call for fifteen days or three hundred sixty hours due to clinician shortage! While on-call, I could be awakened in the middle of the night and required to go to the hospital to see a patient. I could not go out of cell phone range since I had to be able to receive calls and go to the hospital immediately. I could not go boating, fishing, or hiking if it meant going out of phone range. I could not relax when at a restaurant since I might have to leave suddenly. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Gateway Board Plans Next Steps by Mike Youngblood - I read with disappointment and dismay the article in the April 16th Ketchikan Daily News concerning the status of and plans for Gateway Center for Human Services. I feel I must respond to some of the points noted in that article. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Where are the energy answers By Mike Isaac - Thank you Mark Neckameyer for pointing out what everyone else in the TV and print media has not asked? What are their answers to the energy problems??? Not only is it affecting the price of food but the travel industry is starting to take a big hit with airlines workers getting laid off due to less people are traveling and rising fuel cost.The cruise ship and hotel industry is also taking a hit. With all that bad news I have heard very little about energy except for John McCain on Sean Hannity's show state that drilling in ANWR won't happen on his watch and the need to move away from oil and invest in things like solar and wind power. The other two people in the race have said little on this most important issue but are big on change - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

RE: Bridge By Miles Kaste - Regarding Jerilyn Lester's letter, can you give us some details about the "bridge maybe two" that the "mainland is getting"? - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Thank you! By Stephanie Sherva - I want to say thank you to the Walmart employees that spent Earth Day cleaning the road along mile 4 on North Tongass highway. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Thank you Schoenbar students! By Courtney Watts - I'd like to thank all the Schoenbar students who helped clean up the garbage from around the school, fields, city park, Park Avenue, bike path, and along the creek. Your hard work on Earth Day really improved the appearance and health of our area. We can now take pride in our beautiful town especially along Ketchikan Creek. - More...
Friday - April 25, 2008

Special Meetings??? By Robert D. Warner - Have any of you folks been noticing how many "Special Meetings" have been called recently by the Ketchikan City Council and the Gateway Borough Assembly? It is my understanding that these "Special Meetings" are held on the public dime and taxpayers pick up the tab. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Bridge By Jerilyn Lester - Regarding Stephanie Scott's letter, here is a really good reason. When the Airport was built on Gravina Island instead of Revillagagedo Island we were promised a bridge to get there and that was 30 years ago. The money was here for the bridge until the down-southers and some from up here got wind of it and the earmarks were taken off and Palin took it and spent 199 million before the ink was dry to take the earmarks off. How about the fact that the remaining 34 million was spent on the mainland and didn't even fill a pothole here. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

I agree By Patsy Stokkeland - I agree 100% with Ken Lewis only I would have put that news in big bold letters and published said perps Picture on the front page. You better wake up and realize that people who do these things usually escalate to something worse as time goes by and I sure as heck don't want this person around my grand children, or my animals. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Why won't candidates debate energy issues? By Mark Neckameyer - Seems like every day crude oil prices hit another record. Every day airfares go up due to fuel costs along with the price of everything that has to be shipped. Food prices are soaring as grains are being used to make ethanol ... A lot of good that seems to do ... And there is no end in sight. The bad actors in the Middle East and in Venezuela control crude oil supplies and cutting consumption here in the US won't help as demand is growing so fast in Russia, India and especially China. Combined, the puplulations of those nations are eight or nine times our population and they are busily industrializing and buying cars. For all the talk the presidential candidates hammer away on in ads and debates, with all their arcane, indistinguishable plans for problems like health care, they don't touch the oil crisis except to somehow blame the current administration. The solution to all this seems so simple too. - More...
Wednesday - April 23, 2008

Shoencliff #2 By Charles Edwardson - Whoever coined that phrase should be commended for their astute observations. Most of us can just about bet a six-pack that this coined phrase will come true. The public expressed much of this same doubtful sentiment with the other, less than successful endeavors the borough has undertaken in the past six or seven years. The public expresses their concerns and the assembly just goes about their business any way regardless of public opinion. Their record should speak for itself. - More...
Monday PM - April 21, 2008

Knowledge Is A Good Thing By Terri-Lee Gould - I have to disagree with Mr. Johnson and Ms. Ortiz about the Ketchikan Daily News story printed earlier last week on the front page of said newspaper. In my opinion the Daily News provided a valuable community service by alerting the community about this dangerous person. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Empathy and a referral is in order By Cecelia Johnson - In regard to the offensive "front page article" in KTN Daily News. Although offensive, more importantly, is getting proper help for this individual who has been identified as having a medical problem in the weekend newspaper. - More..
Monday - April 21, 2008

Thank You By Melissa Jourdain - I just wanted to thank your for publishing such a beautiful article about the four men who lost their lives in the helicopter crash on Tuesday, April 15th. Michael Seward was part of our family; he was my husband Darin's best friend of nearly 30 years and Michael was a part of every milestone in our lives. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Bestiality By Teri Holderman - I want to say how appalled and embarrassed I am. The decision to publish the article on bestiality on the front page of the paper was an extreme lack in judgment. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Don't need to air such dirty laundry By Michael Patrick Moyer - Give us a break! I don't care how much anyone thinks it's needed that we publicize decadent behavior in order to alert others to its existence. When I went to pick up my daughters from ballet they immediately asked me if I had read the paper that day. How much crap are you willing to print in order to sell a paper? - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

Real ID Act By Frank W. Turney - When it comes the the Senate Bill (202) not to fund any money towards the so-called Real ID Act of 2005 in Congress with no debate on our 4th amendment rights and HJR19 resolution that passed the house 33-1 and SB 202 17-3, the real KUDOS goes to the Ron Paul Coalition, Fairbanks/Northpole and Delta. They really made the difference. Over 98 percent of testimony, e-mails, phone calls POM came from Fairbanks. - More...
Monday - April 21, 2008

New attitude and positive philosophy needed By Billy Johnson - Instead of building million dollar soccer fields and dreams of moving to lower level competition . . . . maybe it's time to bring in a younger, more hungry coaching staff and philosophy to the Kayhi soccer program. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Schoencliff Debacle #2 By Jackie Williams - Once again, we are being offered the Schoencliff Center, or that is my opinion after reading the Introduction in the proposal from Dawson Construction to remodel the more than 75-year-old building. The mention of tenants; of other groups or agencies that have invested much time and energy, sounds just like Schoencliff Center. The collection of property tax that makes it seem like KGB will have an offset in costs, I believe will be paid by the KGB through rental fees - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Covenant Players By George R. Pasley - A small troupe from Covenant Players has been in Ketchikan this week and will be performing at the Presbyterian Church on Sunday. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Attitude makes a big difference By Jerry Cegelske - "Attitude Makes The Difference!" I recently read a bumper sticker on the side of a van that had that statement on it. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Shocking News By Ken Lewis - Being 8-year college credits short of having a Masters Degree in aberrant behavior will not prevent me from chiming in on the recent front page article regarding animal husbandry? Or what ever higher educated folks call it! - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Bestiality By A. M. Johnson - How often would it be that Al Johnson would agree with Ms. Ortiz (Ketchikan Daily News, Lt to the editor-Bestiality 4/16/08)? My wife and I too, were dumbfounded that a family newspaper would print tabloid crap at best, on not only the front page, but continue the detail for several columns on interior pages. This from a paper that proclaims anonymity for local police reports involving charges far less than those on this case. Yet here every available detail including the perp's name on such a distasteful subject. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Gravina Island Bridge By Stephanie Scott - I travel to Ketchikan from time to time, so I was surprised to hear Mayor Weinstein complain on the radio recently about how difficult it is for elders and those with physical disabilities (he mentioned crutches ) to get to and from the airport in Ketchikan. I am surprised that he doesn't know that you can drive your car to the airport on Gravina Island, or that you can be picked up and driven - thus avoiding lugging luggage and oneself up or down all those airport ramps and steps. Ketchikan has good cab, bus, and airport shuttle service. It has an excellent airport ferry. It has a superb water taxi. Gosh, if you are a passenger, and if you do not live on one of those Ketchikan "roads" that are really walkways, you can actually board a vehicle at your home and stay seated until it's time to step into the lobby of the airport. - More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

Thank You By Shannon Nelson - I would also like to thank Angie Olson for the Easter Egg Hunt at Ward Lake. I am sorry I missed it but saw the pictures and I am looking forward to next year's hunt with my grandson. -- More...
Thursday PM - April 17, 2008

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