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Monday
April 27, 2020
Rufous Hummingbird
This Rufous hummingbird is finding the blooms of this Salmon Berry interesting. Roughly a third of a hummingbirds diet is bugs. Hummingbird food is mosquitoes (the blood sucking kind), spiders, gnats, fruit flies, and sometimes even small bees. During a rain storm, hummingbirds eat small insects rather than nectar.
Front Page Feature Photo By CINDY BALZER ©2020
To have your photo featured on the front page,
email your photo(s) to editor@sitnews.us |
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Fish Factor: Strict New Rules in Place for Alaska Fishermen & Vessels By LAINE WELCH - Strict new rules are now in place for Alaska fishermen and their vessels to protect against and prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the 2020 salmon season.
Effective April 24, Governor Dunleavy provided 11 pages of mandates that specifically apply to those who have not "agreed to operate under a fleet-wide plan submitted by a company, association or entity" representing them.
Among other things, each independent skipper must sign a “Health Mandate Acknowledgement Form” prior to going fishing. They are required to maintain a written or time-stamped electronic log acknowledging that they will comply with the mandates, along with a clear description of which protective plan they are enforcing on their vessel. Skippers also must certify that crew members have been screened upon arrival and that they have completed self-quarantines.
Prior to accepting any fish or making any payment to a vessel, a tender or processor must receive a signed copy of the vessel’s Acknowledgement Form. It only needs to be done once during the season, but all parties must retain a signed copy until the end of the year.
Crew members and captains flying to Bristol Bay and other Alaska regions will undergo verbal and physical screenings upon arrival. They must wear masks while traveling on commercial or chartered aircraft, at air terminals, and go directly to where they will quarantine for two weeks and have their temperatures checked twice a day.
Crew members are allowed to quarantine onboard a vessel and participate in fishing as long as they restrict contact with other boats and people on shore as much as possible.
To protect communities, the mandates stipulate that crew can only leave the vessel for essential purposes.
If a fisherman becomes sick, they will be required to isolate themselves on the boat. If they are unable to do so, the entire vessel will be under isolation.
There are many other requirements which the state will re-evaluate by May 30.
Meanwhile, to further explain the mandates and answer questions, United Fishermen of Alaska is holding a free webinar on Wednesday, April 29 at 10am. Participants include Tom Koloski and Charles Pelton with Alaska Unified Command; Jason Wiard, environmental health officer with the Division of Environmental Conservation; and John Moller, Governor Dunleavy’s commercial fisheries policy advisor. - And Much More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Alaska: Alaska fishermen and conservation groups urge Washington organization to address real issues facing Northwest Chinook and orcas - Alaska Trollers Association, SalmonState and Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association are joined by sport and charter fishermen to condemn the Wild Fish Conservancy’s recent misguided decision to attack Alaskan fishing families, rather than the underlying cause of the Southern Resident orca population’s decline: the decades of destruction of the Pacific Northwest’s freshwater habitat vital to Chinook salmon, an important food source for Southern Resident orcas.
On April 17, Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy filed an injunction in federal court to prevent Chinook salmon trolling in Southeast Alaska effective July 1, 2020. The injunction comes just a month after the Wild Fish Conservancy’s lawsuit against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for authorizing the Southeast Alaska Chinook troll fishery. In response, Alaska fishermen and conservationists spoke out in opposition to the Wild Fish Conservancy’s injunction, expressing their disappointment that the organization chose to divide stakeholders rather than bring them together.
Thatcher Brouwer, Commercial fisherman and Alaska Trollers Association Board Member said, “It is both disheartening and surprising that this Washington group has overlooked the dams, habitat degradation, and toxic pollution in their own backyard and instead has focused their attack on a sustainable hook and line salmon fishery over a thousand miles away. This frivolous lawsuit not only endangers our region’s economy and small-boat fisheries, but also the future survival of Northwest Chinook and orca populations. As a commercial fisherman I have been proud to work with conservation groups in Alaska to protect salmon habitat. If fishermen are driven out of business, who will be left to effectively advocate for protection of wild salmon and the habitat they depend on? Now is a time when we should be coming together and combining efforts to tackle these complex issues while we still have a chance.”
Linda Behnken, Commercial fisherman and Executive Director of Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association also commented saying, "Alaska’s small scale fishermen are committed to sustainable fisheries and healthy ecosystems. Our members are fishing families who are passing along a tradition of stewardship to kids and grandkids. In fact, our organization has been honored for its conservation work both in Alaska and nationally by the Obama Administration. This lawsuit facilitates the demise of wild salmon and orcas by ignoring the devastating impacts of dams, pollution, and habitat loss. And the timing could not be worse; right now family fishermen are struggling to provide healthy seafood to a country confronted with a pandemic. This lawsuit is misguided at best.”- More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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Ketchikan: Knusden Cove Marina Season Tenuous By LARRY JACKSON - In this interview, I talk with Matt Burbank owner of Knudsen Cove Marina. He is open with reduced hours and serving his local customers. The upcoming season is not looking so good but he hasn't had any cancellations for fly in guests. - More....
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Ketchikan: Teaching during a Pandemic, interview with Kayhi teacher Jeff Lund By LARRY JACKSON - Jeff Lund talks about the challenges of teaching online and the concerns for his students all while looking like Steve Martin with a fish stuck through his head. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Ketchikan: Ketchikan home schooling, Jackson version By LARRY JACKSON - It's hard to do interviews of community members when we are trying to stay isolated and practice social distancing. So you get interviews of my children and our version of home schooling. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Ketchikan: AMHS Summer Schedule Updated; Four vessels expected to resume service in June and July - The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) released an updated summer schedule to provide an appropriate level of service based on passenger demand, crew availability, and state and federal guidelines for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The schedule is tentative and could change based on the ability and desire of Alaskans to travel given the current COVID-19 situation. AMHS travelers must follow all applicable COVID-19 health mandates.
The M/V Tustumena is scheduled to resume Southwest Alaska service on June 2 and will run its Aleutian Chain route once a month. The M/V Kennicott is tentatively scheduled to resume service on June 25 with a voyage from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Bellingham, Washington. However, interstate ferry service will be subject to State of Alaska and State of Washington travel rules in place at that time. Kennicott is scheduled to make cross-gulf trips and to visit Prince William Sound communities every other week.
The M/V LeConte is finishing up its annual overhaul and certifications, and the vessel is scheduled to reenter service on June 17. LeConte will serve Northern Panhandle communities when the M/V Tazlina heads for layup. The M/V Columbia remains scheduled to provide service for Southeast Alaska and Bellingham, Washington, beginning July 1 (again subject to interstate travel rules). - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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Southeast Alaska: Sealaska Heritage Sues Neiman Marcus Alleging Unlawful Use of Term "Ravenstail" Copyright Infringement; Institute seeks injunction, compensation for damages - Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has filed a federal lawsuit against Neiman Marcus, alleging the national luxury retailer falsely affiliated garments sold by them with Native artisans through its use of the term “Ravenstail” (Yéil Koowú) —one of the great weaving traditions of the northern Northwest Coast Native tribes—and unlawfully infringed the copyright of a famous Northwest Coast artist.
In the lawsuit, SHI is asking for an injunction against Neiman Marcus and its parent companies prohibiting them from selling the piece, which they are marketing as a “Ravenstail Knitted Coat” (right) and selling for more than $2,500.
The institute is seeking statutory, compensatory, punitive and other damages. Any funds derived from the lawsuit will be shared with the family that owns the copyright to the Ravenstail robe from which the design was taken and invested in an arts and culture endowment.
The lawsuit was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. Prior to SHI filing the lawsuit, Neiman Marcus was made aware of the issues with their product but failed to take any action.
Through the lawsuit, SHI is telling the world that the sale of ancient art practices through people other than Native artists will not be tolerated, said SHI President Rosita Worl.
“In our opinion, this retail garment looks like a Ravenstail robe, and it features a replica of a design that is protected by copyright. It’s one of the most blatant examples of cultural appropriation and copyright infringement that I’ve ever seen,” Worl alleged.
“The unlawful taking of Indigenous intellectual property has to stop,” she alleged.
The lawsuit accuses Neiman Marcus of violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA), a federal law enacted in 1935 to ensure that products marketed and sold as “Indian” are actually made by Native Americans or Alaska Natives. The complaint stems from the company’s use of the term “Ravenstail.” - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Ketchikan: KIC Tribal Health Clinic Launches New Telehealth Services - The Ketchikan Indian Community’s Tribal Health Clinic has launched a new service that connects providers and patients via videoconference. Telehealth is an online option that enables patients to receive a wide-range of healthcare services remotely without having to travel to the clinic for an in-person visit.
“KIC is committed to meeting our patients where they’re at. This option removes barriers for tribal members who choose to utilize our clinic’s medial services,” said Charlie White, KIC Tribal Administrator. “While our team had already been exploring how to best implement telehealth services, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated our efforts.”
Non-emergency medical appointments are now available through Doxy.me, a full-service telehealth solution. The platform allows providers and patients to see each other during their appointment through a desktop computer, smart phone, or tablet. Providers can evaluate and diagnose symptoms, provide treatment advice, and write prescriptions without patients leaving their home. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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Southeast Alaska: Letter Urges Canada, U.S. To Jointly Address British Columbia Transboundary Mining Pollution - An international group of 22 science and policy experts have published a joint commentary in the prestigious journal Science, urging United States (U.S.) and Canadian leadership to immediately address damages and risks caused by Canadian mine pollution flowing downstream into U.S. states. At a workshop led by University of Montana and Alaska researchers, the group, which included representatives from U.S. Tribes and British Columbia (B.C.) First Nations, concluded that the threats and impacts of Canadian mines on shared rivers, fisheries, and communities is not adequately assessed by the B.C. government. The letter also calls on the U.S. and Canadian federal governments to invoke the U.S.-Canada Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and address the fact that B.C. mine assessments are neither adequately based on defensible science nor adequately protect U.S.-B.C. transboundary waters from mining pollution.
“This letter highlights the inadequacies of British Columbia’s evaluation and permitting process for massive toxic waste dumps in major salmon-producing transboundary rivers, like the Taku, Stikine-Iskut, and Unuk-Nass river systems,” said Jill Weitz, director of Salmon Beyond Borders and one of the policy experts who co-authored the publication. “B.C.'s mine assessment process leaves Alaskans unprotected because it underestimates the risk of mine failures and contamination, and doesn’t rely on independent science.”
The Taku, Stikine-Iskut, and Unuk-Nass are transboundary watersheds and home to world-class salmon rivers that originate in northwest B.C. and flow into Southeast Alaska. These iconic rivers and their watersheds have been centers of culture, commerce, and biodiversity for thousands of years and are the lifeblood of the numerous communities and nineteen federally recognized tribes of the region. Over two-dozen, large-scale Canadian mines are in some phase of development or operation at the headwaters of these rivers.
Raymond Paddock, environmental coordinator for the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) said, “This letter validates the concerns of our Tribes in Southeast Alaska as well as our ongoing request for increased federal engagement from Canada, the United States, and Indigenous governments. We must work together to better understand and manage the proposed, existing and abandoned mines in our shared rivers.” - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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International group urges review of Canadian mining impacts
By ALICE BAILEY
The Tulsequah River winds through the mountains in British Columbia near the leaking Tulsequah Chief Mine. The Tulsequah River is a tributary of the Taku River, which flows into the marine waters of Southeast Alaska just south of Juneau.
Photo by Chris Sergeant |
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Southeast Alaska: International group urges review of Canadian mining impacts By ALICE BAILEY - Twenty-two scientists and policymakers from the United States and Canada are urging U.S., Canadian and indigenous governments to address Canadian mining practices that threaten downstream ecosystems and fisheries in Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Washington. In a letter published in the journal Science on Friday, April 24, the group highlights the shortcomings of current environmental assessment and permitting practices required of large-scale industrial mines and describes the consequences of contaminating transboundary rivers.
In Alaska, many people depend on salmon that spawn in the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers for personal, cultural and economic health, explained Megan McPhee, a co-author with the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. All of these rivers originate in British Columbia and have multiple mines operating or proposed in their watersheds.
“Current methods for assessing and mitigating the risks to salmon posed by Canadian mining plans in transboundary rivers fall short,” she said. “The future of chinook, sockeye and coho salmon running the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers depends on science that is independent, rigorous and transparent.”
Chris Sergeant, a graduate student at CFOS and a co-author of the letter, calculated that mining claims cover 59% of the drainage area in the Unuk watershed. The Red Chris Mine operates in the headwaters of the Stikine River watershed, and several more industrial-scale projects are proposed. “In the Taku River watershed,” Sergeant said, “the Tulsequah Chief Mine has been leaking acid mine drainage since the 1950s.” - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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Alaska: Disappearing Alaskan sea ice is significant for Arctic marine ecosystem - A new study shows that plant materials originating in Arctic sea ice are significantly incorporated into marine food webs that are used for subsistence in local communities of the greater Bering Strait region.
The study led by scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science traced persistent biological compounds that are uniquely generated by microscopic plants in sea ice and found that the compounds are present throughout the base of the food web. The research has the potential to demonstrate the importance of sea ice ecosystems as a source of food in Arctic waters in Alaska and beyond.
"It is widely thought that the loss of sea ice habitat will have far-reaching implications for Arctic ecosystems," said lead author Chelsea Wegner Koch, a graduate research assistant and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
"As sea ice breakup occurs earlier and forms later each year, the open water period is expanding and the sources of food are shifting away from sea ice and towards greater proportions of open water production. This production in the absence of sea ice differs in the quality, quantity, and timing of delivery to the seafloor," she said. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Alaska: Online application for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) now available - Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) is accepting applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
"Workers who are self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers or are not working due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are not eligible for any state or federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits may qualify for PUA," said Commissioner Dr. Tamika Ledbetter.
Individuals who have exhausted regular UI claims may qualify for other programs before PUA will be available to them.
Applicants must first apply for regular UI prior to filing for PUA. Both applications can be filed online by going to my.alaska.gov and clicking on “Unemployment.” - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020 |
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Analysis: The coronavirus genome is like a shipping label that lets epidemiologists track where it's been By BERT ELY AND TAYLOR CARTER - Following the coronavirus’s spread through the population – and anticipating its next move – is an important part of the public health response to the new disease, especially since containment is our only defense so far.
Just looking at an infected person doesn’t tell you where their version of the coronavirus came from, and SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t have a bar code you can scan to allow you to track its travel history. However, its genetic sequence is almost as good for providing some insight into where the virus has been.
An organism’s genome is its complete genetic instructions. You can think of a genome as a book, containing words made up of letters. Each “letter” in the genome is a molecule called a nucleotide – in shorthand, an A, G, C, T or U.
Mutations can occur every time the virus replicates its genome, so that over time mutations accumulate in the viral genome. For example, in place of the “word” CAT, the new virus has GAT. The virus carries these minor modifications as it moves from one person to the next host.
These mutations behave like a passport stamp. No matter where you go next, previous stamps in your passport still show where you’ve been.
Molecular geneticists like us can use this information to construct family trees for the coronavirus. That allows us to trace the routes the virus has traveled through space and time and start to answer questions like how quickly and easily does it spread from one person to another?
Individual patient data help paint a big picture
Online databases have been collecting SARS-CoV-2 genomic nucleotide sequences since mid-December. Whenever a patient tests positive for SARS-CoV-2, a lab can determine the genome sequence of the infecting virus and upload it. As of late April, more than 1,500 genome sequence samples have been deposited in GenBank, a publicly available database run by the National Institutes of Health, and more than 3,000 are in GISAID, the open-access Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data.
Since each sequence is from a patient who is in a specific place in the world, these viral genome sequences allow scientists to compare them and track where the virus has been. The more similar the sequences from two particular viruses are, the more closely related they are and the more recently they’ve shared a common ancestor. The first SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequence uploaded to the GISAID’s website was collected from a patient in early December 2019.
Of course, the viral mutations themselves do not tell researchers which country they happened in. But since the databases record where particular patterns of mutations have been observed, scientists can determine the route that each viral strain has taken. The global map tracks the movement of the virus around the world.
The data recorded from thousands of patients show that SARS-Cov-2 originated in Wuhan China and spread from there to the rest of the world. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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MONEY MATTERS: THE COVID -19 FINANCIAL PLAN By Mary Lynne Dahl, Certified Financial Planner™ - The impact of Covid 19 on our jobs, our ability to work and earn income, has shocked a lot of people who never imagined that a virus could be so destructive. According to government statistics, there are about 157 million people in the US who work for a living in normal times and at the last count, approximately 25 million of them have now applied for unemployment benefits. The data on how many can work from home and are now doing so is varied, but according to the Brookings Institute, almost half of American workers are now working from home. That leaves a lot of people without work or unemployment benefits. Many are self-employed, contract workers or part-timers who may work more than one job. These are our neighbors, our friends, our families. They make up the communities we live in and they are struggling right now to see a way out of the financial hole that they find themselves in suddenly.
If you ask the question, “how did so many people suddenly become financially broke”, the answer you often get is “duh…I lost my job. I have no income. I have bills to pay and nothing in the bank to pay them with. Don’t you get it?” - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
DAVE KIFFER: You too can be a Covidpreneur! - Trying times always lead to innovation.
For example, people learned to eat a lot of new things during the Great Depression. And we fervently hope that the predicted "Covidian Depression" does not lead to new flavors of Naugahyde - or Spam - or Pilot Bread - to consume.
I have been thinking lately about innovation regarding new products that will soon become "must haves."
You know, the type of things you see on "Shark Tank" which my wife and son watch religiously.
No, I am serious, they watch it more often than most people go to church. They can quote chapter and verse from the 1st and 2nd Books of Cuban and The Psalms of Mr. Wonderful. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
ARTHUR MARTIN: Student Loans Should Be Forgiven and All Credit Card Debt Should be Wiped Clean - I went to college (which may or may not have been a good decision) and along with graduating from a degree in Political Science, specializing in the Art of Looking Good and Talking Pretty, I also found myself with $70K+ in student loan debt.
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate talking about student loan forgiveness and many people on both the right and the left are against this concept and so was I—until quite recently.
This article isn't about Sanders, it's about the benefits of debt forgiveness and as you continue to read this article you will begin to agree with me more and more. By the time you finish you will say, “Yes Arthur Martin, you're right!” Are you ready for the challenge?
I paid off my loans after a lot of hard work, why should others be given a clean slate? - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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Political Cartoon: States Opening Up
By Bob Englehar ©2020t, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc. |
Local comments on fuel prices By Marvin Davis - So I see that the rants have started on FB again about fuel prices, their movement locally, and about how we are all getting ripped off. Having lived in this community some 40 years, operating retail a good part of that, it’s been interesting the number of times the rant comes up about how something is priced in this town. The fuel business is not insulated from this, we’ve seen complaints for years.
If you buy high, you have to sell high unless you are a government entity or non-profit. In this town, we have to have a lot of forward capacity for fuels (storage in case the barges don’t run). The fuel in that storage is purchased at a blend of pricing, and doesn’t move price at the pump in the same way we might expect. Inventory is sold on one of three methods, first in/first out, last in/first out, and average cost. The dealer can’t usually switch this, once a method is chosen, they’re mostly stuck with it. So in the case of FIFO, while they are adding cheaper fuel to their tanks, they still have to charge for the expensive fuel left in their tanks. With LIFO, they could price the fuel being sold based on their cheaper fuel being purchased, but then they are stuck with the original layer of fuel at a much higher price, which becomes a loss if they never move it by emptying their tanks. Using average cost, they add the cost of the current fuel being purchased, and divide the total cost now in the tank by the total number of gallons in the tank. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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IS TODAY'S OIL PRICE A CRISIS? OR AN OPPORTUNITY? By Ray Metcalfe - Every now and then, the Saudis remind the rest of OPEC's members, and a few nonmembers like Russia, what happens when they don't stick to the production quota Saudi gave them.
In the 1980s, the Saudis developed the ability to do something no other oil-producing country can. They developed the ability to produce over twelve million barrels per day but set their target production between 9 and 10 million.
Saudi can cause a gradual increase or decrease in world oil markets by adding or subtracting 1 million barrels. Several OPEC countries can turn their oil spigot up and down, but only Saudi can flood the market and crash prices with an extra 3 million barrels per day.
When Russia told Saudi to go pound sand, Saudi pounded out another 3 million barrels, reminding Russia and OPEC members who fail to abide by Saudi's prescribed quotas, that selling 2 million barrels per day for $50 per barrel is more profitable than selling 3 million for $25.
In early March, Russia, Mexico, and all the members of OPEC agreed to a 9.7 million barrels per day cut, which is the largest cut OPEC has ever done but, thanks to COVID-19 worldwide commerce has fallen by one third and the demand for oil has likely also fallen by about one third. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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Open Letter to Murkowski, Sullivan & Young: Need FBI Fraud Investigation By Byron Whitesides - I am a lifelong Alaskan, now stranded in the Seattle area, waiting on the AMHS to get a ferry to Bellingham WA, so we can get home. My reservations have been canceled and changed 3 times because the ferry system could not make the reservation they had confirmed to us, and I had to change it once because of the COVID 19 problem, and British Columbia had closed the border, canceling our plan to drive to Skagway and catch a ferry south to Ketchikan (which now is still not running). I started this letter to you as a request to you to see if you could use your authority/power to help get our AMHS highway going again, to assist us Alaskans stranded in the lower 48 because of lack of service of the AMHS in getting home, but now as I have started this, there is so much more that really needs to be addressed!
My wife and I are extremely distressed at this lack of reliability of the AMHS, once the mainstay transportation for southeast Alaska and the other Alaska coastal communities, it's service is essential to these communities providing affordable public transportation. I have discussed this with a lot of friends and long time Alaskans and they are distressed and upset too. We just don't know what to do to get this issue addressed, it appears there is nothing we as individuals can do, so now I am appealing to you for help.
Those of us who use this system have been seeing a decline in the AMHS for a couple of decades, raising of pricing, and scheduling that is not convenient to the users, driving the users away. The last few years just takes the cake though! The AMHS has gone from reliable to totally unacceptable! First the system had stoppages of service and unreliability, next the service to Prince Rupert was stopped! This was an original port from the start of our marine highway system and one most people have always used because of the affordability, it's just much cheaper to go 90 miles to Prince Rupert and drive south, than to go nearly 700 miles on the ferry to Bellingham. Now most of the coastal communities who rely on this marine highway have not had service for nearly SIX months. I believe the only service in many months is now Metlakatla to Ketchikan! HARDLY A MARINE HIGHWAY NOW! - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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DPS Continues to Provide Critical Services Despite COVID-19 By By: Major Bernard Chastain, DPS Operations Support Bureau - To most people throughout the United States, traditional law enforcement response usually involves an officer responding to a call for service in a police car. You know- a marked patrol car with the city or state name proudly decaled on the side with some fancy logo and uniquely identifiable image. During emergencies, a police car responds with lights and sirens through a busy city street, a state trooper pulls over a drunk driver on the highway or an officer responds in the middle of the night to a domestic violence call. We are all very familiar with this scenario. But how does it happen where there are no roads? If a police car can’t drive there, how does the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) get its Troopers to some of the most remote locations on our planet? Well, we use whatever we can. That includes snowmachines, ATVs and in many cases, aircraft. COVID-19 and the related decline of commercial air carrier services does not change that.
The DPS Aircraft Section has long maintained the largest and most diversified aircraft fleet of any state law enforcement agency in the country. Utilizing 43 aircraft and over 40 pilots, the DPS Aircraft Section plays a vital role in providing air support for law enforcement missions across Alaska. Our aircraft are stationed strategically around the state from to Coldfoot to Kodiak and from Hoonah to Kotzebue to maximize their efficiency to provide the best support to all department missions. Nearly all of the Aircraft Section’s flights occur in rural Alaska, away from traditional police services and where the commercial air carrier closures impact Alaskans the most. Our Aircraft Section will continue to collaborate with partner agencies and the private sector to maintain mission critical services. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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HERE’S TO ALL YOU ASYMPTOMATIC, PSYCHOPATHIC OR SOCIOPATHIC KILLERS OUT THERE By David G Hanger - How would you like to be one of those people who has to live the rest of their lives knowing they killed multiple members of their family or family friends by unintentionally exposing them to the coronavirus? I know something of that myself, for it is I who in May 1972 asymptomatically brought back to Ketchikan the first case of spinal meningitis in this state in something like 40 years. My 20-month old niece was the victim, and, by dint of fortune only, she survived by the narrowest of margins. My father’s only brother (that he knew as such) died in 1933 of meningitis, and the disease has never been completely eradicated from Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio (it hides, then recurs every few years) where I routinely shopped while going to graduate school. I was lucky, my guilt limited to the knowledge gleaned about what might have happened.
Yes, it is true that the flu is a pandemic that routinely hounds humanity, and with certain virulent strains is capable of inflicting incredible misery upon humanity, but the flu is a known pandemic, a known virus, for which science has developed vaccines and at least semi-effective treatments, and for which humanity has inbred considerable herd immunity. The Spanish flu (which may actually be the Fort Riley, Kansas, flu) was such a cruel killer because it attacked people born after 1889 who had developed no immunity whatsoever to this particular version of the flu. That fact has only been understood to the extent it is understood since 2014 for an epidemic that occurred from 1918 to 1920. Science is hard, and most of you are stupid.
This is not over because some dirt bag politician says so. This thing is just starting, not ending. There are no real treatments for it (it’s just stick you on a gurney, a cot, or a bed, try to maintain your fluid levels, etc., and wait to see whether you progress or digress out of it). There are no vaccines, nor will there be for a considerable time to come despite the incredible efforts currently deployed. To date the fastest deployment in history for a vaccine is four years, and that is just getting it to the stage where it is safe and can be mass-produced. It then takes years longer to mass-produce the vaccine. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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You are Not Alone; Help is Available By By: L. Diane Casto, MPA, Executive Director, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) - On March 11, Governor Dunleavy declared a public health emergency to protect Alaskans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the country. The following week, a health mandate was issued requiring all Alaskans, except critical and essential workers, to remain at their place of residence and practice social distancing. This mandate, as well as the other health mandates, are vitally important and necessary to keep Alaskans safe from the virus.
Unfortunately, staying at home, sheltering in place and social distancing have unintended consequences in homes where violence, control and abusive behaviors are happening. Homes where abuse and violence occur are not safe havens; rather they create smothering isolation, fear and increased violence, abuse and control. Domestic and family violence happens daily in Alaska. While social distancing does not create violence, CDVSA knows that isolation increases both the intensity and frequency of abusive behaviors. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Chinese Research Laboratories Caused Coronavirus Pandemic By Donald Moskowitz - Based on information available I believe the COVID19 outbreak came from bat research at the Wuhan Center for Disease Control & Prevention which is across the street from the Wuhan seafood market falsely blamed by China for the outbreak. Another bat research facility is the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), only 10 miles away.
The following information is from the article listverse.com/2020/03/20 which I liberally paraphrase and quote.
Chinese scientists in the two Wuhan labs. have been conducting experiments on coronavirus in bats since 2012 and the COVID19 strain is solely specific to the coronavirus infecting bats at the Wuhan labs. It is believed a researcher at the labs. was infected with COVID19 and transmitted it to people in the Wuhan area. China has a history of students working in labs. becoming infected. In November 2019 the WIV posted job openings for students interested in "molecular mechanisms that let coronavirus lie dormant for a long time without symptoms." This is a trait of COVID19. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Voting by Mail By Joe Bialek - Voting by mail should replace voting at the polls in it's entirety. The two institutions that can definitely be trusted is the County Board of Elections and the United States Postal Service.
The money saved by eliminating the need for poll workers could be used to offer free postage on the envelopes used to vote by mail. The person voting would also have more time to consider what they are voting for and would not be confined to the hours of the polling place. It would also prevent unwanted entry to schools and
churches from anyone trying to harm someone.
In addition the voter would not be harassed by someone trying to place unsolicited campaign literature into their hand. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
The Environment of Ketchikan By Toni Million - Ketchikan is now a psychologically putrid place to be. All operating businesses are existing in a total state of fear. If you're lucky you only get scowled and barked at, otherwise, people will scream, "Get the #$@% away from me!!" This town will not recover from this. It is a dead thing and most people are simply allowing and even encouraging it.
If you make excuses for being unlawfully put under house arrest (euphemistically called quarantine) and wish to tell others how to live their lives - something is seriously wrong with your mind. If you are terrified to live--lock yourself up!! The rest of us who are not cowards must work! - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
Vindictive and Corrosive President By Donald Moskowitz - Trump fires officials who criticize or disagree with him. He fired the intelligence community inspector general who informed Congress about the whistleblower's Ukraine interference incident. Trump fired others who testified during the impeachment proceedings. He would like to ignore Dr. Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert.
Trump's latest vindictive attack was against Michigan's Governor Whitmer. She was critical of poor federal preparations and the small quantities of personal protective equipment (ppe) sent to Michigan. Trump responded by saying " We don't like to see complaints." He told Mike Pence "don't call ….the woman in Michigan. It doesn't make any difference what happens."
Trump singled out the female governor of Michigan for retribution because of her comments. Whitmer said medical supply vendors were told not to send ppe to Michigan. - More...
Monday PM - April 27, 2020
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