Crab Breakfast
This mink with its crab breakfast was photographed on Gravina Island.
Front Page Photo By JIM LEWIS

Southeast Alaska: Court Stops Juneau Road Project, Ferry Options Not Properly Considered - Today the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that put the brakes on Juneau’s half-billion dollar Juneau Road Project.

Avalanche across the proposed project route.
Photo by Scott Logan
Alaska Transportation Priorities Project

“It is the right decision.  The Federal Highway Administration and the Forest Service failed to look at the most obvious alternative, which is to improve access to Juneau using existing ferries,” said Buck Lindekugel, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council Grassroots Attorney.  “Why should we build an expensive and unnecessary road - which will still require a ferry connection - when improved ferry schedules, fares and other service could meet community needs?”

The project, being pushed by the State, would extend an existing dead-end road out of Juneau an additional 51 miles, along a steep, avalanche-prone section of the Lynn Canal fjord.  The road would end at a new ferry terminal near the Katzehin River 90 miles from Juneau.  Here travelers would transfer to a ferry to Haines or Skagway.  The price tag on this road has continually increased, last estimated by the Federal Highway Administration in 2009 at over 500 million taxpayer dollars.

The Court’s ruling makes it clear that improved ferry service between Juneau and Haines and Skagway must be considered, and that the reasons presented for not doing so were “arbitrary”.

 “Ferries are a safe and flexible means of connecting people throughout Southeast, and they are part of the fabric of our community,” said Lindsey Ketchel, SEACC Executive Director. “With the court decision behind us, it is time to put our transportation dollars into the common sense projects that matter most for our communities, such as the ferry system.”  

A recent report by the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, “Easy to Start, Impossible to Finish: Alaska Spends Millions on Roads and Bridges Without Financial Plans to Complete the Projects”, outlines that in a time when Federal funds are declining, the State of Alaska  is dedicating millions of dollars to projects, like the Juneau Access project, that it does not have the financial means to complete.  The report is attached.  

“This decision takes a questionable megaproject off the books and allows the governor to focus on more viable transportation projects, like Alaska class ferries and maintaining roads in the population centers of Alaska,” said Jan Wrentmore, a Skagway businesswoman and chair of the Skagway Marine Access Commission. “This is a positive step forward that will benefit communities throughout our region.”

“The decision reaffirms the State’s obligation to seriously consider for the first time the one alternative that could improve access and save hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars:  better ferry service in Lynn Canal with existing boats,” said Eric Jorgensen, an Earthjustice attorney in the case.

According to the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, the proposed Juneau Access Road/Ferry project would consist of 51 miles of new road from Echo Cove approximately 40 miles north of Juneau to the undeveloped Katzehin River via the east side of Lynn Canal, a new ferry terminal at the river 90 miles from Juneau, and new shuttle ferries to travel to Skagway (pop. 865) and Haines (pop. 2,300 in the Borough). Currently a larger ferry serves these two communities operating from a terminal 13 miles from downtown Juneau. Because of concerns expressed by the National Park Service, in 2005 the Federal Highway Administration dropped its original plan to build a road from Juneau to Skagway and instead adopted the road/ferry combination. - More...
Wednesday - May 04, 2011

Rapid response to the reported infection allowed SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) employees, state public health nurses, the Alaska Section of Epidemiology, and PeaceHealth employees to notify and treat more than 35 close contacts of the patient with a preventive course of antibiotics within 24 hours.

Symptoms of meningococcal infection include: fever, severe sudden headache, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, pain in the shoulders and back, and a red pinpoint rash. High fever and irritability are signs in a very young child. Symptoms may appear within one to 10 days, but usually appear within three to four days of exposure. - More...
Wednesday - May 04. 2011

Alaska: Governor Parnell Continues Challenge to Federal Health Care Mandates - The State of Alaska filed a court brief today opposing the federal government’s mandate that every Alaskan and American be required to purchase a certain product for health insurance, whether they want to or not, or face a penalty. The brief by the State of Alaska, 25 other states, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

The brief supports Federal District Court Judge Roger Vinson’s ruling on the national health care reform law of 2009, which stated the individual mandate is unconstitutional for violating the Commerce Clause.

“This case is about the individual rights of citizens and the protections our country’s founders wrote into the Constitution to prevent the federal government from reaching into our lives, homes, and pocketbooks to exercise control,” Governor Parnell said. - More...
Wednesday - May 04, 2011 

Alaska had the highest chlamydia rate in the country in 2010, and the second highest rate of gonorrhea. Alaska has consistently had the first or second highest rates of chlamydia since 2000. The Department of Health and Social Services noted a rapid increase in new cases of gonorrhea in most regions of the state in 2009.

“It’s critical that our department works with patients, their sexual partners and health care providers to diagnose and treat these infections as soon as possible,” said Dr. Joe McLaughlin, state epidemiologist. “We have to control these epidemics.”

According to the bulletins published yesterday, 6,026 cases of chlamydia were reported to the section in 2010, a 13-percent increase over 2009. In 2010, 1,273 cases of gonorrhea were reported, representing a 23-percent increase in the gonorrhea infection rate over 2009. - More...
Wednesday - May 04, 2011

Ketchikan: Winter 2011-12 season proposed ferry schedule meetings - Proposed schedule patterns for the winter 2011-12 season have been placed on the Alaska Marine Highway System website for public review.

This is an opportunity for communities to review and comment on the proposed schedule in consideration of community events.

A teleconference to hear comments and consider adjustments is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. for Southeast Alaska schedules and 1:30 p.m. for Southwest and Southcentral Alaska schedules. The meeting will be held in Ketchikan at the Port Engineer’s waterfront office, 3713 Tongass Avenue for participants wishing to attend in person. - More...
Wednesday - May 04, 2011

Ketchikan: Ketchikan 5th and 6th Graders Sample College Life - Ketchikan 5th and 6th graders from Tongass School of Arts & Sciences and Ketchikan Charter School are busy gearing up for their May 10th visit to the UAS Ketchikan campus. The “I’m Going to College” program is their chance to learn how they can become college students – and to see first-hand what it will be like. The program inspires students, including those who may not have college-going role models, to recognize that education and training after high school is important and attainable.

This national program is made possible in Alaska through a partnership between the Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA) and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) AlaskAdvantage Programs. It enables children to participate in a variety of exercises and activities. This includes a full-day event at a nearby college campus, sponsored with support from the host institution.

The participating students learn in their classroom about the benefits of a college education, college costs and financial aid, and the entire college process. The children learn how to prepare for college academically and how their interests can align with different career paths. On the day of the event, the students will be welcomed by university leadership, take a tour of the campus, and have lunch on campus. College faculty will present special age-appropriate classes with a hands-on focus. - More...
Wednesday - May 04, 2011

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