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Friday
June 20, 2014
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Craig, Alaska: Busy Bee
Front Page Photo By Donald Glore ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Alaska: POLICE CHIEFS WARN OF LOCAL COST OF MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION By MARY KAUFFMAN - On November 4, 2014, Alaskans will decide if the initiative to tax and regulate the production, sale and use of marijuana in Alaska becomes law. Known as Ballot Measure #2, the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police warn that taxpayers in Alaska’s small towns and cities may face as much as $6,000,000 in unanticipated costs if the marijuana initiative passes this year.
The Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP) is worried that some significant costs of legalization are not being discussed. In a recent survey conducted by the association, 75% of chiefs in Alaska said their agencies would not have the resources necessary to deal with the potential law enforcement impact of marijuana legalization in their communities. It has been reported that when polled on potential passage of the proposed “Act To Tax And Regulate The Production, Sale And Use Of Marijuana” many Alaskans who say they favor it, do so with the caveat that it “be enforced like alcohol is”. What the public does not realize, is that this is far easier said than done according to the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP).
According to AACOP, ample evidence exists to indicate that with the liberalization of marijuana laws, there will be more users of the drug sharing our highways, and that a good number of them will be impaired and putting other drivers at risk. Even the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is concerned about the risks presented by marijuana users on our highways. In a report titled, Cannabis and Driving (Jan. 2008), they recommended that motorists should be discouraged from driving if they have recently smoked cannabis and that they should never operate a motor vehicle after having consumed both marijuana and alcohol. They also called for development of a testing tool to help law enforcement officers keep impaired drivers off the highways.
Because there is no breathalyzer or similar tool for roadside assessment of marijuana impairment, drivers suspected of driving under the influence of the drug (DUID) have to be identified by observations of the arresting officer and established with corroboration of blood toxicology. According to AACOP, presently, less than 3% of Alaskan police officers have the level or training needed to definitively identify impairment through symptomology, and in most communities, suspects of DUID need to be brought to a hospital or clinic before blood can be drawn lengthening the time it takes to process an arrest and keeping the officer from seeking out other violators.
Alaskan police chiefs are also concerned about statistical trends developing in Colorado and in studies from other states where marijuana use has been liberalized which indicate legal marijuana is easily diverted to teens. Sixty-four percent of the chiefs cite the desire to increase the number of school resource officers (SROs) in their communities to help counteract that inevitability, but worry about finding the financial resources to do so. Only 2 Alaskan chiefs believed there was community support to allow their budget to be raised sufficiently to cover needs created by legalization.
AACOP estimates that more than 700 of Alaska’s 950 law enforcement officers need Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) training in order that they can readily identify symptoms of DUID, and that 150 Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) are needed across the state to ensure that there is an expert on call in every department to process a DUID arrest. Because such widespread training is logistically difficult in a state like Alaska, the cost of necessary ARIDE and DRE training will amount to an estimated $3,721,000, and because there is no provision in the proposed legislation to support the needs of local law enforcement, AACOP says this cost will likely need to be borne by taxpayers at a community level. - More...
Friday PM - June 20, 2014
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Fish Factor: World’s biggest sockeye salmon run, riskiest season in recent memory By LAINE WELCH - Uncertainty best sums up the mood as fishermen and processors await the world’s biggest sockeye salmon run at Bristol Bay. In fact, it’s being called the riskiest season in recent memory in the 2014 Sockeye Market Analysis, a biannual report done by the McDowell Group for the fishermen-run Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.
As presaged by buyer pushback at seafood trade shows earlier this year at Boston and Brussels, for the first time since 2010 the starting price for the first sockeyes from Copper River took a $0.50/lb dip. At an average $3.50/lb, it was down13 percent for fishermen from 2013.
“Probably more so than any recent year, processors are having pressure from both the buying side with more competition for fish in Bristol Bay, and on the selling side there is a very large sockeye forecast from the Fraser River (in British Columbia). And that fishery takes place in August well after Alaska’s sockeye fisheries are done,” said Andy Wink, Seafood Project Manager at McDowell Group.
“If buyers hold off and there is a big Fraser run, it could leave Alaska processors holding some high priced sockeye inventory. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with wholesale prices, but in general, there are more downside risks this year,” he added.
The expected catch at Fraser River is about 10 million sockeye, but it could double that if fishermen and processors have the capacity to handle it.
Of course, farmed salmon remains a big market competitor - also in play this summer is red salmon from Russia. That fish is making big inroads into markets where it hasn’t been before.
“It wasn’t till 2013 when we really saw Russian sockeye going in any significant volume to markets outside of Japan,” Wink explained. “As our sockeyes become more expensive, Japan has been buying more from Russia. But last year we saw Russian sockeye exports outside of Japan go up 580 percent!”
On the upside, Wink said Alaska sockeye is an ever more popular brand, especially in the US.
“There is still a lot of demand, especially for fresh and frozen products, and there is strong demand from salmon smokers in Europe, and a growing market in the US market. That’s really supported the entire Bristol Bay fishery over the last several years,” he said.
Sockeye salmon are Alaska’s must valuable species by far, usually worth two-thirds of the total statewide harvest. The 2014 Alaska sockeye harvest is projected at 33.6 million fish; roughly 18 million of the reds should come from Bristol Bay. - More...
Friday PM - June 20, 2014 |
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Ketchikan: PeaceHealth Ketchikan Recognized by State Legislature - PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center received a special honor this week during a visit by Alaska State Senator Lesil McGuire. When the tour reached the new Infusion Therapy Suite, Senator McGuire presented a special Legislative Citation on behalf of the Alaska State Legislature to CAO Ken Tonjes; Foundation Director Penny Pedersen; and Infusion Therapy Nurse Deb Davis, RN.
Deb Davis, RN, Infustion Therapy Nurse, CAO Ken Tonjes, Foundation Director Penny Pedersen and Alaska Senator Lesil McGuire
Photo courtesy PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center
Senator McGuire sponsored the citation to commemorate the opening of the new Infusion Therapy Suite and to, “recognize the important role this new infusion center will play for Ketchikan and other southern Southeast communities.”
During Senator McGuire’s tour of the suite, she commented on the importance of having high-quality, local care in rural Alaskan communities. The partnership of individuals, local businesses, and the Waterfall Foundation to fund this local Infusion Therapy Suite in order to provide patients with a more private and peaceful space, moved Senator McGuire’s to champion this special recognition from the legislature. - More...
Friday PM - June 20, 2014
Alaska: Remains recovered from 1952 Alaska plane crash - The remains of 17 service members have been recovered from an aircraft that was lost in Alaska more than six decades ago, Pentagon officials announced Thursday.
On Nov. 22, 1952, a C-124 Globemaster crashed while en route to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, from McChord Air Force Base, Washington, with 11 crew members and 41 passengers on board. Adverse weather precluded immediate recovery attempts, officials said.
In late November and early December 1952, they added, search parties were unable to locate and recover any of the service members. |
In this June 25, 2012, photo provided by the Army, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) recovery team works at the site where military aircraft wreckage was found on Colony Glacier, Alaska.
Photo by
Jamie D. Dobson/Army
Almost sixty years later, on June 9, 2012, an Alaska National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crew spotted aircraft wreckage and debris during a training mission over the Colony Glacier, immediately west of Mount Gannett. Three days later, another Alaska Guard team landed at the site to photograph the area and found artifacts at the site that related to the wreckage of the C-124 Globemaster.
Later that month, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and Joint Task Force team conducted a recovery operation at the site and recommended that it continue to be monitored for possible future recovery operations. In 2013, additional artifacts were visible, and JPAC conducted further recovery operations.
Defense Department scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used forensic tools and circumstantial evidence in the identification of 17 service members. The remaining personnel have yet to be recovered, officials said, and the crash site will continued to be monitored for possible future recovery. - More...
Friday PM - June 20, 2014
Columns - Commentary
 JEFF LUND: Go big or stay home - For the past eleven years my buddy Chris and I have told fishing, hiking and camping stories but had only outdoored together a handful of times.
So when he came up to Alaska for a week, I knew it wouldn’t be about talking. It would be about action.
He had to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch his flight out of Sacramento, so I figured he needed something to keep him from falling asleep. I picked him up from the airport and we immediately went up One Duck, a 1,100 foot climb in just over an mile. He’s a fellow half marathon runner, so we were up and down in 1/3 of the recommended time.
Once back to my house we wrapped five dozen shrimp if bacon, slathered it in BBQ sauce, and hit golf balls at a life ring 30 yards from shore until eleven.
It was a pretty good first day, so I decided to keep things rolling. - More...
Friday PM - June 20, 2014
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the editor at editor@sitnews.us or call 617-9696
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 Sealaska Board Desperation By Clarice Johnson - Sealaska shareholders have seen unprecedented financial losses and record level spending by Sealaska on a campaign to re-elect legacy board members. - More...
Monday - June 23, 2014
Vote YES on Ballot Measure 1 By Lisa Weissler - On August 19, Alaskans have the opportunity to make a difference in our state. By voting yes on Ballot Measure 1, voters have the power to repeal the oil production tax enacted in 2013. Senate Bill 21 changed how the state taxes the production of publicly owned oil, establishing a system that is not in Alaska’s best interest. - More...
Monday _ June 23, 2014
Questions remain unanswered. By Barbara McDaniel - Questions remain as to why Gov. Parnell waited almost four years to open an official investigation into 2010 Alaska National Guard (ANG) chaplains’ reports to him of sexual assaults of particular servicewomen in the ANG. - More...
Monday - June 23, 2014
Leveraging lessons from missile defense By Congressman Don Young - It's been said that failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. This sage perspective is particularly apt as we work to perfect the United States’ missile defense. - More...
Monday - June 23, 2014
$2 Billion Giveaway Sound Bite is a Dangerous Distraction By Senator Bert Stedman - Over the years I’ve read many of the reports written for the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). In May, ISER published the report funded by Northrim Bank and written by Dr. Scott Goldsmith entitled, “Alaska’s Oil Production Tax: Comparing the Old and the New” which has been placed in the center of the debate to repeal the new oil tax enacted by the passage of Senate Bill 21. His analysis is thoughtful, but the title is misleading and should be retitled, “Debunking the $2 Billion Giveaway Myth.” That’s what the report is being used for in the public relations arena and I believe that it’s also the reason behind the report’s creation. - More...
Monday - June 23, 2014
Significant weaknesses Goldsmith's report By Dr. Mark Myers - Following years of billion-dollar budget surpluses - the result of increased oil prices, price volatility, and an oil production tax system called ACES, Governor Parnell pushed through a new tax regime, called SB21. In the year following its passage, state surpluses have turned into forecasts of multibillion-dollar deficits, while ConocoPhillips reports that its profits in Alaska have risen substantially despite lower production. - More...
Monday - June 23, 2014
Disband the IRS By Beverly A. Martin - Americans, are you slaves? Do you realize you consent to politicians using the IRS as their weapon to silence you, control your spending, while legally taking your wealth? - More...
Monday - June 23, 2014
The Word Parnell Refuses to Say…"Deficit" By Bill Walker - Alaskans take pride knowing we are the largest state with the most lakes, tallest mountains and longest summer days. But there are other extreme facts we aren’t boasting about, nor is our governor willingly discussing. Under Parnell, we have blown through 35 percent of our savings and are saddled with the largest budget deficit in state history. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Census recently announced that Alaska is one of only two states with declining revenues in 2013. - More...
Saturday PM - June 14, 2014
Fate of the TLMP revision By Gretchen Goldstein - Doomed from the start. That’s the fate of the TLMP revision recently announced by the USDA. The revision faces controversy and legal challenges because, of the 15 revisers appointed to the Tongass Advisory Committee, not one represents subsistence. Yet California, Washington, and Oregon each have a voting representative; the timber industry, Native corporations and the government all have multiple representation. - More...
Saturday PM - June 14, 2014
UNITED AS ONE By Diane Gubatayao - Last November, outstanding Kayhi students Eimy Anzueto, Roselyn Cachero, Benz Guillermo, Mikala McKim and Omar Mendoza, attended the statewide LEAD ON! conference in Anchorage. They met students from all over Alaska and learned about issues facing young people. Each community chose a goal, and our Kayhi youth decided to sponsor an event to celebrate the wonderful diversity of Ketchikan. These wise young people recognize that many groups lead parallel lives in Ketchikan and rarely do their paths cross or come together. - More...
Saturday PM - June 14, 2014
The Declaration of Independence and The U.S. Constitution By Rex Barber - The Declaration of Independence is America's creed. The absolute belief that the only legitimate form of Government is Government by consent of the people.(Republican form of Government) That they (We the people) are endowed with certain unalienable rights. Rights that are sown in the very nature of man. Rights that exist in the wine dark deep recesses of our DNA. - More...
Saturday PM - June 14, 2014
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