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Sunday
April 16, 2017
Red Skies At Night...
Front Page Feature Photo By RACHELLE LYNN SPEIGHTS ©2017
Alaska: House Votes to Impose Income Tax on Alaskans - Saturday, on the 89th day of the legislative session, the Alaska House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill, HB 115, that would impose a state income tax on working Alaskans in the midst of a recession.
Saturday, Alaska House Republicans stood resolutely against a state income tax, while the House Democrat-led Majority voted to take over $680 million from Alaskans by passing House Bill 115.
HB 115, which the House Republicans say should more aptly be called the "Tax Working Alaskans Act," would tax Alaskans' income, including pensions of elder Alaskans, ANCSA Corporation shareholder dividends, and trusts. Sixty new state employees, at an estimated annual cost of over $7.5 million, would need to be hired to impose this tax.
"Taxing Alaskans is fundamentally the wrong thing to do during an economic recession," said Representative Lance Pruitt (R-Anchorage). "Over 9,000 Alaskans have lost their jobs in the last year. We've heard from economists that another 7,500 jobs will be lost in 2017. The House Majority's income tax will make these numbers worse, and make it harder for Alaskans already struggling to make a living."
"This bill has changed every other week and has no modelling," said Representative Mike Chenault (R-Nikiski). "Do we want to be more like the federal government, where we have to pass a bill to find out what is in it? An income tax is not needed to close our fiscal gap, and is not wanted by Alaskans."
A March 2017 poll commissioned by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce demonstrated that 58 percent of Alaskans oppose imposing an income tax to fill the state's budget deficit. As it currently stands, HB 115 will tag Alaska with the unfortunate title of having the 12th highest marginal tax rates in the United States. No modelling was performed on the version of HB 115 voted on Saturday. It is unknown how this income tax would impact economic growth, job creation, business investment, unemployment, Alaska or its residents.
"There are at least four plans out there that address our fiscal gap without taxing Alaskans," said Representative Charisse Millett (R-Anchorage). "Why in the world would we tax Alaskans if we don't have to?"
"Taxing Alaskans who work to give free state services to those who don't [work] is simply the wrong policy," said Representative Dan Saddler (R-Eagle River). "The better policy is to shrink government, cap spending, and encourage the private sector to build new wealth."
Fiscal plans introduced by Alaska House Republicans, which included no state income taxes, have not received any hearings to date, and Republican House Finance members were denied the opportunity to reduce the impacts of this bill on Alaskans. - More...
Sunday AM - April 16, 2017
Alaska: House Passes "School Tax" to Fund Education - Saturday, the Alaska House of Representatives passed the “Education Funding Act” to set up a stable revenue stream to help pay for Alaska’s constitutionally mandated public education system.
“The failure to pass legislation to address Alaska’s mounting fiscal challenges is the reason why we have decided to put aside our differences and join together to change the direction of the Alaska House,” said Speaker of the House Rep. Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham). “This resolve has allowed our members to cast floor votes on fiscal plan measures for the first time in years. We have passed a responsible budget that reduced spending by $82 million, we have passed a bill allowing structured use of the earnings of the Alaska Permanent Fund, we have passed oil tax credit and subsidy reform, and now we have passed a school tax. By passing all the components of a comprehensive fiscal plan, we have kept our word to put the future of Alaska first.”
HB 115 will raise an estimated $687 million for the Public Education Fund once fully implemented, including $80 million from nonresidents who come to Alaska to earn a living but don’t contribute to essential state services. The bill includes a $4,000 personal exemption that applies to every person in a household. Permanent Fund Dividends are also exempt from taxation, and the bill allows Alaskans to choose to apply some or all of their PFD to pay the school tax.
“Passing HB 115 means that legislation representing all four pillars of our comprehensive fiscal plan has passed the House, which sets up the normal end of session negotiations,” said House Finance Committee Co-chair Rep. Paul Seaton (R-Homer). “Our economy is in a recession and every expert to come forward has advocated for a comprehensive response that protects Alaska from the volatility of oil prices. We must put in place a fiscal plan that uses more than just one revenue source. Combining the appropriate use of Permanent Fund earnings with this modest school tax spreads the burden equally across the state.” - More.. |
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Fish Factor: Brighter Outlook for Salmon Season By LAINE WELCH - A brighter outlook for Alaska’s upcoming salmon season just got even better.
Markets are looking good, the statewide salmon catch forecast of 204 million is up by a million fish, and the world’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery at Bristol Bay is breaking records for chilling its fish.
Last year nearly 40 percent of Alaska’s total salmon value came out of Bristol Bay. When its fish fetch a better pay check for boosted quality due to chilling, it is felt throughout the entire salmon industry.
“The size of the Bay harvest has a big impact on salmon prices elsewhere. Typically, it’s 35-40 percent of the global sockeye supply,” said Andy Wink, Senior Seafood Analyst with the McDowell Group.
“When the base price in 2015 was 50 cents at Bristol Bay and they had a large harvest, sockeye prices in other areas fell and we also saw coho prices come way down. It’s a market moving fishery and that is why it affects so many other Alaska fishermen.”
The 2016 Bristol Bay harvest of 37 million sockeye salmon from the region’s five river systems was the second largest in 20 years, and both drift and setnet harvesters chilled the largest amount of raw product in the history of the fishery.
That’s according to a processor survey done each year by Northern Economics, Inc. of Anchorage by contract with the driftnet fishermen-funded and operated Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.
"This is huge for the retail potential of Bristol Bay,” said Rebecca Martello, BBRSDA executive director. “The fleet is making great strides to ensure Bristol Bay is a quality product and this definitely ties into all aspects of marketing and making Bristol Bay the premium brand we know it to be.”
The 2016 survey captured raw product data, fleet information, ice production volumes, chilling methods, and opinions of trends and priorities within the fishery.
Some highlights: Responses by the region’s 12 major processors showed that 71 percent of the Bristol Bay driftnet fleet’s 1,390 participants chilled their catches, compared to the previous high of 59 percent in 2012.
Of the total 212 million pound Bristol Bay salmon harvest that crossed the docks, chilled fish topped an “astounding” 137 million pounds. Drifters delivered a record 123 million pounds of chilled sockeye, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.
The amount of salmon chilled by 858 setnetters decreased by three percent. The number of “dry deliveries” (unchilled) dropped below 22 percent, down nearly half from 2009.
Last year saw a big shift away from putting the reds into cans and focusing instead on more valuable products: fresh and frozen fillets and headed/gutted (H&G) fish.
Canned production dropped by nearly 17 million pounds (just 27 percent compared to over 70 percent two decades ago), while H&G fresh production increased eight-fold to nearly 14 million pounds. Salmon fillet production approached 50 million pounds, a 50 percent increase.
Bristol Bay fishermen averaged $.76 a pound for their sockeye salmon last year. The average chilling bonus has steadily increased since the processor survey began in 2008, from $0.11 per pound to $0.16 per pound in 2016.
At an average weight of 5.4 pounds, that makes each sockeye salmon caught last year worth more than $4.75 to fishermen.
The sockeye salmon harvest at Bristol Bay for 2017 is projected at 27.5 million fish. - More...
Sunday AM - April 16, 2017
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Ketchikan: “Collage Concert” April 22nd - A concert presentation in the round at Ted Ferry Civic Center will take place on Saturday, April 22nd. Ketchikan Community Concert Band and other musical solos and ensemble groups will perform. Desserts and beverages will be served with background music provided starting at 6:30 p.m.
Soloists will include Dave Kiffer on alto and soprano saxophones, vocalist Kelly Burke, flutist Jamie Karlson and George Shaffer and Patrick Enright on percussion instruments.
Ensembles to be featured are the Ketchikan Community Concert Band, the Passing Winds Woodwind Quintet, Rachel and the Brassholes Brass Quintet, Windjammers Big Band, and the Scattered Sunshine Trombone Choir. A select “Farmer Ensemble” will present “Barnyard Boogie” and the trumpet section will be featured in “Bugler’s Holiday”. - More...
Sunday AM - April 16, 2017
Ketchikan: THE MESSIAH AND MORE IN ‘CLASSICAL SPRING’ APRIL 29TH AND 30TH - The Ketchikan Community Chorus presents Classical Spring, a refreshing musical extravaganza, April 29 and 30 at the First United Methodist Church. Featured Guest artist Katie Saunders, a classical and Broadway vocalist, joins the Chorus as well as professional string players, Steve Tada, Andrew Schirmer and Tracy Hagen, to make this a truly musical extravaganza.
Classical Spring’s program features the Easter Section of Handel’s Messiah, which dramatically portrays the many musical moods Handel used to tell the story of Jesus’ life and death. Local soloists include Michael Fitzgerald, Lallette Kistler, Cathy Tillotson, Sheila Zastrow, Maria Dudzak, Lydia Antonsen and Steve Kinney. The Chorus includes 25 local voices, and another 20 instrumentalists making up the orchestra. Over the many years that the Ketchikan Community Chorus has been performing, Handel’s Messiah is easily one of the most popular works in its repertoire. That being said, it is also one of the most difficult, challenging the voices of Choir members. ”We love it though”, says Steve Kinney, Musical Director, “When it all comes together, it is truly something to behold, and perfect for a Classical Spring.”
Guest Soprano Katie Saunders has performed with the San Francisco Opera and various opera houses in Germany, Iceland, Finland, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. As a concert artist, Ms. Saunders has sung Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Icelandic National Symphony and Handel’s Messiah for the Bad Honnef Concert Series in Germany. She currently is part of a newly formed trio performing Classical Crossover. Her home is in Naples, Florida. - More...
Sunday AM - April 16, 2017
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COLUMNS - COMMENTARY
PETER FUNT: Thoughts for the Holidays - The confluence of Easter and Passover at mid-month will find many people, stressed more than usual by the state of world affairs and the chaos of domestic politics, seeking answers from their faith.
It's hard to imagine anyone on the world stage more gifted at articulating a course for humanity than Pope Francis. Beyond his responsibilities as leader of the Catholic Church, the Pope, at age 80, has become a beacon of common sense, most emphatically in his devotion to the economically disenfranchised.
"The world tells us to seek success, power and money," he observes. "God tells us to seek humility, service and love."
His words are powerful, even for those like myself who are not Catholic.
During the four years of his Papacy he has boldly directed many of his remarks at governments and world leaders in addressing the needs of a troubled planet.
Here are my favorite statements by Pope Francis:
- "The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their poverty."
- "Responsibility for the poor and the marginalized must be an essential element of any political decision, whether on the national or the international level."
- "Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral obligation."
- "Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society."
- "Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day."
- "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."
- "The problem of intolerance should be dealt with as a whole. Every time a minority is persecuted and marginalized, the good of the whole society is in danger."
- "Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity."
- "To change the world we must be good to those who cannot repay us."- More...
Sunday AM - April 16, 2017
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Editorial Cartoon: Egg Roll
By Nate Beeler ©2017, The Columbus Dispatch
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
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Oil Revenue - Senate Budget By RK Rice - "Meanwhile, there is no consideration of oil tax subsidies for which next year's bill will be a cool $1.37 BILLION when the state will earn production taxes of just $87 MILLION. While schools are denied the funding they need, the oil and gas industry rolls along untouched by cuts. The contrast could not be more stark." - More...
Monday PM - April 10, 2017
No to Alaska Income Tax By Lance Clark - In response to Rep. Dan Ortiz' letter, he mentioned a modest income tax. There is no such thing. Once an income tax is established it just gets bigger and bigger. - More...
Monday PM - April 10, 2017
Budget Proposals; Let your voice be heard By Rep. Dan Ortiz - As expected, it’s been a challenging legislative session, and from here on, the budget will be the forefront of every discussion. Both the House and the Senate are creating Alaska’s budget, but it’s clear that the bodies have differing approaches. - More...
Saturday PM - April 08, 2017
Thomas Basin, Spruce Mill Sheet Pile Fix By Charlie Freeman - It is my understanding that the proposed fix for the rusted out sheet pile in front of the old Spruce Mill property is to dump rock and fill in front of it, on the basin side, to contain the sluff. This, if true, may well be the worst idea since the T-pier. - More...
Saturday PM - April 08, 2017
Private Health Insurance is gouging us By Michael Spence - According to Alaska Dispatch News, Premera Lifewise of Alaska recently announced it had profited $18 Million from Obamacare plans last year, and another $20 Million in Individual Health plans. These figures were sharply higher than what the company officially predicted which was $2.7 Million.During the same year, it was reported, the deficit-bound State of Alaska subsidized Health Insurance industry in Alaska to the tune of $55 million dollars. - More...
Wednesday PM - April 05, 2017
Walker's big take from economy By James Dornblaser - The Ketchikan Borough Assembly faces a dilemma! Sales tax issues are foremost on their agenda. Same is true with most of our state's local governments. They face the question of how to make up the shortfall caused by our governor's brainchild of confiscating 1/2 of all our permanent fund dividends last fall. - More...
Wednesday PM - April 05, 2017
Think About It By Donald A. Johnson - I noticed with interest that Lisa Murkowski voted with the Democrats to fund elective abortions thru Planned Parenthood. This is just one example (and there are many) of why we have excessive taxes and the average working man cannot make ends meet. - More...
Monday PM - April 03, 2017
HB 159 is a State Government overreach By John Suter - In regards to HB 159, prescription pain medications are regulated by the Federal Government and Medical Professionals. HB 159 is a State Government overreach, which will consequently cause harm to seniors, the chronically ill and those who are recovering from surgery. HB 159 is treating monitored prescribed pain killers as if they were illegal drugs. Taxing prescribed opioid drugs is attacking the weak; those who are undergoing treatment for pain. Limiting prescribed opioid drugs will make it more difficult for those people who are ill because they will have to rely on others to take them to the pharmacy on a weekly basis vs. a monthly basis. Right now under Federal Law people who need prescribed pain medicine must see their doctor on a monthly basis. If HB 159 passes then, those who are in need of pain management will need to see their doctor on a weekly basis. - More....
Monday PM - April 03, 2017
What’s obvious to Alaskans continues to bewilder legislators By Curtis W. Thayer - Decisions regarding the size and funding of government impact all Alaskans so it’s important to have current, comprehensive information to help make wise choices. Each year, the Alaska Chamber asks Alaskans a broad range of topics. When it comes to funding State government, we find issues like taxation and use of the Permanent Dividend will forever be contentious. Alaskans are evenly split on restructuring the Permanent Fund to pay for state spending. How these overarching issues color Alaskans thinking is obvious when you look at the numbers. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 29, 2017
Oil companies bought Alaska legislature back By Ray Metcalfe - In 2004 I speculated in an ADN op-ed that several members of both houses of our legislature were taking bribes from oil companies with Bill Allen and VECO acting as their surrogate. While I only had a smattering of hard evidence, my real confidence in risking that the most powerful people in Alaska would not sue me for saying it stemmed from my confidence that bribery was the only logical reason any legislator would pretend to believe that profits to the big three producers needed to be increased at our expense or they would leave. Over and over I had documented that oil company profits in Alaska dwarfed oil company profits in other parts of the world. Over and over I documented that other countries kept a much larger share of the profits than we were keeping. Over and over seated legislators would pretend to believe and act on oil company rhetoric that I knew that they knew had to be false. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 29, 2017
Alaska Income Tax By Lance Clark - Here we go, a nice new income tax to punish anyone who is even a little successful. All an income tax does is take money away from private businesses and service providers and feed it to the government greed monster, which will always need more. Unlike the state, when our income goes down we spend less. The less we spend the more businesses suffer and either lay off or drop out. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 29, 2017
Invitation to Welcome Interim Pastor By Steve Kinney - Please join us at the Ketchikan Presbyterian Church on April 2nd to welcome our interim pastor, the Rev. Dr. Robert Nicholson. He is eager to share God’s Word with us! Worship is at 11:00 followed by coffee and conversation. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 29, 2017
Fake News Prevalent in Alaska By Bethany Marcum - During this legislative session, fake news has been prevalent in Alaska. We’ve heard our state budget cannot be balanced without an income tax; we must cap the PFD and restructure the Permanent Fund to create a long-term budget plan; Alaskans don’t understand enough about our fiscal situation to be able to vote on a solution; and state government has already been cut to the bone and more reductions are unreasonable. Well don’t believe it - it’s all fake news. - More...
Monday PM - March 27, 2017
An Open Letter to the Legislators, Councilmen and Assembly of Ketchikan By Terri Wilson - Friday morning I read the article about changing the way you tax senior citizens, and I've had enough of the idiocy of the State of Alaska, City Council and the Borough Assembly! Every one of you should resign, get REAL PEOPLE in to make wise decisions -- like housewives who have to budget! - More...
Monday PM - March 27, 2017
Stop Cash Payments to Oil Companies By Dan Ortiz - It’s time to roll back the high cashable credits we pay to oil companies. House Bill 111 is a bill which amends the current oil and natural gas tax structure to remove or edit pieces of the current oil tax system that do not benefit Alaskans. - More...
Monday PM - March 27, 2017
The American Health Care Act Is What Repeal Looks Like By Ghert Abbott - As the American Health Care Act was the best possible repeal legislation that House Republicans could create, we’d do well to consider the full significance of last week’s debacle. What would repeal have meant if it had been successful? And what does its total political failure mean for American healthcare? - More...
Monday PM - March 27, 2017
WHY I LOVE KETCHIKAN By Laura Plenert - On a recent Friday night when my power went out – there were strange noises – crackling, crashing etc. I sprang out of bed to check the house. Everything seemed in order. When I got up on Saturday morning, parts of my home had power, parts didn’t. I smelled a burned wire smell in my living room and noticed the porch lights on – and wouldn’t switch off. The switch was very warm. I went to the breaker box to shut off that breaker. I noticed 5 other breakers had “popped”. I called a friend who is an electrician – Wayne Walters. He advised that the first step was to get in touch with KPU to make sure the power into my home was ok. I called KPU and spoke to a very tired employee who said he would put me on the list. Afraid to turn anything on, I went outside to start shoveling. During a “shovel break” – Mark Adams – from KPU (who lives a few doors down) came to my door and said he heard I had problems. There was a bucket truck in the area – so the 2 KPU employees in that truck stopped and checked the power to my home. Everything checked out OK. In the meantime, Wayne called me back – he had an employee (Art from Channel Electric) who was nearby and would come to check on interior electric. A short time later Art showed up – he replaced the burned switch and checked out the breaker box. - More...
Monday PM - March 27, 2017
Town crier By Rodney Dial - I think most are starting to come to grasp with the state budget deficit and what it means; Ketchikan is a smart town. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 22, 2017
"THOSE PEOPLE" ARE YOU AND ME By Janalee L. Minnich Gage - My blood pressure is high, even though it's going on 21 years since May 31st 1995... I still get worked up, it still brings tears to my eyes, not for the reasons you might think, nor out of regret or anger, but out of the harsh lesson I witnessed. - More...
Wedesday PM - March 22, 2017
How Will Don Young Vote? By Ghert Abbott - On March 14th I spoke on the phone with a staffer for Congressman Don Young’s Washington office about my concerns regarding the Trump-Ryan American Health Care Act, which will repeal the Affordable Care Act. If this bill becomes law the Medicaid expansion will be rolled back and Alaskan Medicaid cut, an estimated 1,000 Ketchikan residents could lose their healthcare, Federal subsidies that help Alaskans buy insurance will be cut by 75%, Alaskan insurance premiums will go up and coverage quality down, and elderly Alaskans will be forced to pay more. When all of these effects are taken together, I believe they will greatly harm rural Alaska and result in people dying for lack of affordable care, and I told the staffer this. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 22, 2017
The Age of Propaganda By Michael Spence - In the 1970's scholars dubbed it the Information Age , a future in which computers would increase all levels of communication between humans. It was widely believed then that such an increase in access to knowledge would transform our world for the better. Where isolationism and illiteracy were once common, there would be a trans-formative shift towards education, democracy, and prosperity. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 22, 2017
Rebuilding Our Military By Donald Moskowitz - As a Navy veteran and a strong supporter of our military I commend President Trump for initiating a program to rebuild our military with a defense budget increase of $54 billion, but it should be decreased by $1.3 billion and the $1.3 billion added to the Coast Guard budget within the Department of Homeland Security so it is not cut by $1.3 billion. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 22, 2017
SAY NO, PROTECT TAKU By Chantelle Hart - I am a Taku River Tlingit (TRT) woman from Atlin BC and I have lived my entire life in fear of “the mine” that might come to my home territory and cause disastrous impacts to my community and the surrounding environmental areas. Even as a young child, I lived with terror and unarticulated fury over the various investors that have come to capitalize off the Tulsequah Chief mine. First there was Redfern (later called Redcorp Ventures), and they went bankrupt – but the long and drawn out legal battles my First Nation became embroiled in was a tremendous financial sacrifice we have not yet recovered from. My people have never been able to breathe easy for long, because there is always a wolf at the door, attracted by the possibility of profit. - More...
Saturday AM - March 18, 2017
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