COVID-19 DATA SUMMARY – June 8, 2022 Reporting data for June 1-7, 2022 OVERVIEW STATEWIDE: 2,872 new cases -  0 deaths - 45 hospitalizations SE Alaska Positive Cases: Ketchikan (70), Ketchikan Gateway Borough (7), Juneau (136), Craig (6), Metlakatla (15), Petersburg (7), POW-Hyder Census Area (7), Sitka (22), Skagway (6), Wrangell (19), Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon (10) COVID-19 DATA SUMMARY June 1, 2022 Reporting data for May 25-31, 2022 OVERVIEW STATEWIDE; 2,268 new cases, 50 hospitalizations SE Alaska Positive Cases: Ketchikan (49), Ketchikan Gateway Borough (5),  Metlakatla (18), Petersburg (15), Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (2), Sitka (17), Skagway (3), Wrangell (5), Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon (41), Craig (1) COVID-19 DATA SUMMARY – May 25, 2022 Reporting data for May 18-24, 2022 OVERVIEW STATEWIDE: 2,463 new cases, 46 hospitalization SE Alaska Positive Cases: Ketchikan (132), Ketchikan Gateway Borough (6), Juneau (207), Craig (5), Haines (15), Metlakatla (9), Petersburg (7), Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (6), Sitka (25), Skagway (9), Wrangell (7), Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon (14) COVID-19 DATA SUMMARY May 18, 2022 Reporting data for May 11-17, 2022 COVID-19 DATA SUMMARY May 11, 2022 Reporting date for May 4-10, 2022 COVID-19 DATA SUMMARY – Apr. 27, 2022 Reporting data for Apr. 20 - Apr. 26, 2022 Alert Levels Case Counts Dashboard Information Hub Alaska: Statewide COVID-19 Alert Levels, Updates, Active Cases, Hospitalizations, etc. Ketchikan: Public Meetings Ketchikan: Upcoming Events Ketchikan: Announcements Ketchikan: Classifieds CLASSIFIEDS Publish Your Ad Click Here Historical Ketchikan June Allen Dave Kiffer Louise B. Harrington Ketchikan Weather Ketchikan's Forecast Ketchikan Dec. Weather Ketchikan 2021 Daily & Monthly Data (Choose the Location of Interest) Nat Weather Service KTN Ketchikan Tides & Currents Tideschart Sunrise - Sunset Ketchikan Search the News Ketchikan Alaska SitNews Search

Ketchikan: M/V Malaspina Officially Retiring to Ketchikan, Alaska; Former 'Queen of the Fleet' will stay in Alaska, become centerpiece of historic park. By DAVE KIFFER -   It's official. The state of Alaska is selling the retired state ferry Malaspina to the developers of Ward Cove for $128.500.

A new group, M/V Malaspina LLC, plans to restore the vessel and turn it into a museum celebrating the maritime and logging history of the community. John Binkley has said that it will also be used for worker housing and hopes to use it as a training platform for the students working towards a career in the maritime industry.

The Malaspina has been docked at Ward Cove since it was taken out of service at the end of 2019. Selling it will save the State the $425,000 is has been spending each year for wharfage and upkeep, according to a press release from the ADOT.

Four years ago, another one of the original AMHS mainliners, the Taku, was sold for scrap and that was not the best outcome, according to AMHS general manager John Falvey.

"This is the fifth ship that the AHMS sold over the past 20 years," Falvey said in a press release announcing the sale. "And we've learned a thing or two about how to dispose of a ship that has sailed its twilight cruise. As the former Queen of the Fleet, and the first mainline vessel built, we didn't want just any future for the Malaspina, and we certainly did not want her sold for scrap metal."

The Malaspina was the first three $4.5 million mainline ferries that would tie the communities of Southeast together and eventually provide service to Prince Rupert, B.C. and Seattle, Washington. Year-round passenger steamship service had ended in Southeast in the early 1950s and the state was looking to boost economic development in the region by creating a ferry service that would tie the communities in Southeast together and also eventually link up the state with Prince Rupert, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington. There was also a tourism component as people from outside Alaska were encouraged to "drive" the Marine Highway.

The arrival of the Malaspina in January of 1963 was a very big deal in Southeast. The Ketchikan Daily News estimated that approximately 3,000 people turned out to greet the ship, blocking Tongass Avenue for several miles in either direction. Alaskan Governor Bill Egan was in town to great the ship and city mayor Louis Glatz proclaimed Jan. 23 as "Alaska Marine Highway Day."

There was an even bigger crowd in Juneau, estimated by the Juneau Empire at 4,500 people. Eventually, the Taku and the Matanuska joined the fleet and were followed by a dozen other ships of various sizes. Service was also expanded to Prince William Sound and the Aleutian Islands.

Both the Malaspina and the Matanuska were eventually expanded in size. The Taku was sold for scrap in 2018, but the Matanuska continues to operate, nearly 60 years after it was built. At the time of construction, the mainliners were expected to have 30-year life spans, but all nearly doubled that. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Alaska: Special Primary Early Voting Locations Opened May 27, 2022 - On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, about 560,000 ballots (this differs from the total mailed number on State of Alaska Division of Elections returned ballots as the state has subtracted ballots that been returned as undeliverable)for the Special Primary Election to fill the US House seat. Since then 83,849 ballots have been returned to the State of Alaska Division of Elections. 

On Friday, May 27, 2022, Absentee in Person voting locations will opened statewide.  At these locations, voters can request a replacement ballot, vote if they did not receive a ballot at their mailing address, or return their ballots.

Voters can still return their ballot through the mail through Election Day, June 11, 2022. 

Alaskans for Better Elections reminds all Alaskan voters to:: - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Ketchikan: 750-mile engineless boat race to Ketchikan, Alaska returns with a new twist - Race to Alaska is back for year six after a two-year COVID-induced hiatus. No motors or support allowed—the R2AK is about the physical endurance, saltwater know-how, and bulldog tenacity that it takes to navigate the 750 cold water miles from Port Townsend, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska. “As these teams sail into the forgotten reaches of our coastal wilderness, the stories that do come out will be incredible,” says Race Boss Daniel Evans.

First place wins $10K; second place, a set of mediocre steak knives. Teams embark on Stage 1, “The Proving Ground,” from Port Townsend on June 13 at 5:00 AM; they have 48 hours to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca and make it to Victoria, BC. June 16 at high noon marks the start of Stage 2, “To the Bitter End,” the 710-mile trek from Victoria to Alaska. 

Racing this year are prototype vessels like Team Skywalker on a foiling boat that looks like a TIE fighter. A team of four youth - 16.75 average age - called Mustang Survival’s Rite of Passage are sailing a veteran Santa Cruz 27. Human-powered teams in kayaks and rowboats will be jockeying for position with go-fast boats, solo racers, and even those attempting to drag their engineless houseboats up the Inside Passage. Most just hope to finish, and the journey is what is celebrated.

This year, the removal of one of only two waypoints between Victoria and Ketchikan, Seymour Narrows, gives racers the choice of going up the inside of Vancouver Island or going out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the Pacific Ocean - opening up a new realm of possibilities as teams endeavor to solve the R2AK puzzle. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Ketchikan Historical: Ziegler was dean of the Ketchikan legal community By DAVE KIFFER -   Fifty years ago this month, the dean of the Ketchikan legal profession died while on a vacation trip to Seattle.

Adolph Holton Ziegler was 86 and was stricken at a Seattle hotel and later died at one of the area hospitals on May 17, 1972.  At the time of his death - he was the oldest and longest serving member of the Alaska Bar Association, having become a member in 1915.

His death came just about a month before the Ketchikan Community College - now the University of Alaska Southeast-Ketchikan Campus - planned to name its main building after him. Ziegler spent more than two decades serving on the Alaska Territorial School board, including a lengthy spell as board president.

Ziegler was born in Easton, Maryland on Dec. 20, 1889 and was educated there at Easton High School and Maryland College and Sadlers Business College. According to his biography on the University of Alaska website, he began to study law while in high school with a local attorney named Stewart who had served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He moved to Juneau Alaska in 1913 and continued to study law with attorney Z.R. Cheney until he passed the bar exam in 1915. He served in the US Navy Intelligence Service in World War I and came to Ketchikan in 1919. He was instrumental in forming a local veterans' group that became the American Legion Post #3 and he was also a charter member of the Ketchikan Elks Lodge #1429.

He was the senior member of the longtime local law office, Ziegler, Ziegler and Cloudy and was president of the Ketchikan Bar Association from 1959 until his death. 

He was also the chairman of the board of directors of the First National Bank in Ketchikan, serving since the bank's founding in 1924 and was bank president for many years.  He was the mayor of Ketchikan in 1938-39 and was in the territorial legislature from 1928 to 1933. He was an active member of the Democratic party and his son, Robert "Bob" Ziegler was a state senator from 1965-1987. He was also survived by his wife Katharine.

Over the years, Ziegler represented hundreds of local residents and groups in court.  He represented the powerful, such as banks and governments, and also the indigent. He represented canneries and fish pirates alike.

Three of his cases were particularly noteworthy in Ketchikan history. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Ketchikan: Ketchikan Wellness Coalition Awarded $100,000 Grant for Crisis Now; Model includes Mobile Crisis response - The Ketchikan Wellness Coalition (KWC) was awarded $100,000 from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority to begin the development of a community plan to implement the Crisis Now model, a national framework designed to improve systems of care when responding to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

Funding for this program will support the position of a Crisis Now Community Director, a position that KWC is actively recruiting for. This position is responsible for the overall leadership, management, communication, and planning for the program and will function as the key liaison for community partners and the community at large in relation to the Crisis Now program.

“We’ve heard from many people in Ketchikan, from individuals to first responders to health care workers, that this type of model is much needed. We are excited that KWC will be working with our community partners and key stakeholders to create a plan that will see Ketchikan improve its approach to mental health crisis response and get people the support and care they need, when they need it” says Romanda Simpson, Executive Director of Ketchikan Wellness Coalition, “now we just need to find the right person to fill the Community Director role”.

The Crisis Now model has been implemented in communities across the nation, including in Alaskan communities; last fall the framework was successfully launched in Fairbanks. However, not all aspects of the Crisis Now model can be implemented in Alaska communities due to limited resources and infrastructure. The Crisis Now model aims to provide the most suitable care and supports for individuals in crisis while reducing inappropriate use of emergency room visits and correctional settings. This could include mobile crisis teams and short-term stabilization in addition to other community specific solutions. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Coast Guard accepts delivery of 49th Fast Response Cutter Douglas Denman; To Be Homeported in Ketchikan
The Coast Guard accepts delivery of 49th Fast Response Cutter Douglas Denman, in Key West, Florida, May 26, 2022.
The cutter will be homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska. 
Courtesy Photo U.S. Coast Guard District 17

Ketchikan: Coast Guard accepts delivery of 49th Fast Response Cutter Douglas Denman; To Be Homeported in Ketchikan - The Coast Guard accepted the Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman (WPC 1149), the 24th Fast Response Cutter built by Bollinger Shipyards, during a May 26 ceremony at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Florida.

“We were honored to have Douglas Denman's son, Doug Jr. and daughter, Karen there for the momentous occasion,” said Lt. Paul Kang, commanding officer of the cutter. “In addition to that, two of Douglas Denman's granddaughters drove down from Georgia with their families.”

The cutter, which is 154-feet long and has a crew complement of 24, will be homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The Douglas Denman is scheduled for commissioning in September in Ketchikan. It is the third Fast Response Cutter to be stationed in the Coast Guard’s 17th Coast Guard District, which covers the state of Alaska and the North Pacific. The Denman will join the John McCormick (WPC 1121) and the Bailey Barco (WPC 1122), which arrived in Alaska in 2016 and 2017.

Born in Tallapoosa, Georgia, the cutter’s namesake joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1940 and was eventually assigned as a coxswain to the USS Colhoun (DD-85), a Wickes-class destroyer in the U.S. Navy during World War I and later re-designated APD-2 in World War II. On Aug. 30, 1942, the Colhoun was positioned off the coast of Guadalcanal when it was attacked by hostile aircraft. Denman was seriously wounded during the attack but remained at his duty station. When the order was given to abandon ship, Denman and another crew member helped evacuate the crew and get life jackets to those already in the water. Because of Denman’s selfless actions, 100 of the 150 officers and staff survived the attack and sinking of Colhoun. Denman received the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals for his heroic efforts. He served for 20 years in the Coast Guard, retiring as a senior chief petty officer in 1961. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Alaska: New reports on trawl bycatch and salmon stocks paint a devastating picture - New reports on trawl bycatch and salmon stocks just released by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) paint a devastating picture of how while subsistence fisheries on the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers have seen closures due to low runs, the pollock trawl fleet continues to catch and discard a significant number of Chinook and chum salmon originating in those river systems. Meanwhile, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit heads to Sitka, Alaska for a North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) meeting that begins Monday, June 6. 

The ADF&G stock status report released at the end of May determined:

• Western Alaska Chinook salmon runs in 2020 and 2021 were the poorest observed over the past 40 years.
• Western Alaska chum salmon decline was even more extreme in 2021 than 2020. The 2021 run was by far the smallest ever documented, at one-third the size of the previous record poor abundance, in 2000. In most of Western Alaska, 2020 and 2021 chum salmon runs were the lowest on record. In 2021, both Yukon River summer and fall chum salmon runs were lower than at any other point since 1981, with a combined fall and summer chum salmon run size under 250,000 fish. 

ADF&G has announced subsistence and sportfish closures in these regions due to poor returns. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Listen, then support - a new approach in Southeast Alaska is a long time in the works
By MARY CATHARINE MARTIN
An Admiralty Island brown bear walks through Pack Creek. Pack Creek is the only current bear-viewing area on Admiralty (called, in Lingít, Kootznoowoo), known for its dense concentration of brown bears — one per square mile. Most visitors fly out of Juneau to visit Pack Creek. Kootznoowoo Inc., the Native Corporation of the village of Angoon, hopes to establish a new bear viewing area closer to the community. The name “Kootznoowoo” means “Fortress of the bears.” Photo by Mary Catharine Martin©

Southeast Alaska: Listen, then support - a new approach in Southeast Alaska is a long time in the works By MARY CATHARINE MARTIN - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a new approach in Southeast Alaska: first listening to locals about what their community needs, then working to support those ideas. So when the department asked what investments the USDA should make as part of its sustainability strategy, announced in 2020, it heard lots.

From Kootznoowoo, the Native corporation of the village of Angoon, on Admiralty Island: the development of a new bear-viewing area nearer to Angoon, and additional opportunities for Angoon-led storytelling and economic development.

From the Southeast Alaska Watershed Council: restoring, in collaboration with Tribes and communities, streams and watersheds damaged by historic logging practices.

From the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska: cultural interpretive training for the U.S. Forest Service. Youth stewardship. Food security and sovereignty. And increased support for the Indigenous Guardians Network.

The USDA’s initial investment of up to $25 million — almost $9 million of which has been awarded so far — is just a piece of the overall picture, said U.S. Forest Service sustainability strategy program coordinator Barbara Miranda.

Miranda, herself once a city council member and mayor of Gustavus, said working with Tribes and local communities is key. “It is refreshing to have been on that side of the table and now to be on this side and say ‘What can we do for you today?’ and have some money behind it,” she said. “This was a completely different way of doing business. People came to us with their ideas. I’m hoping it will make it easier in the future to keep on supporting our Southeast Alaska communities, so we can realize the promise of the sustainability strategy.”

A look at a few of the projects and priorities

Tlingit & Haida

Leaders at the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska began working with the U.S. Forest Service on the Indigenous Guardians Network a few years ago.

The agreement they developed “is really a revolutionary agreement,” said Raymond E. Paddock III, Tlingit & Haida’s Environmental Coordinator. “We get to drive the bus as we’re building it. That kind of became a stepping stone to this real working relationship with Tribes, and the sustainability strategy is trying to take that same approach.”

The approach of truly listening, said Marco Banda, Tlingit & Haida’s Regional Resource Specialist, is “the start to taking a path toward healing.”

The Indigenous Guardians Network is modeled on work being done by First Nations in British Columbia to monitor and steward traditional lands and waters, using a blend of Indigenous knowledge and science. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Planning for extreme climate events in Southeast Alaska
By ANNE GORE
Photo by Jeremy Bynum.

Southeast Alaska: Planning for extreme climate events in Southeast Alaska By ANNE GORE - Residents of Southeast Alaska are used to lots of rain and snow. Although precipitation varies greatly across the region, less than 30 inches of precipitation a year is highly unusual. As the climate changes, however, the region has experienced hotter and drier conditions, as well as other unusual weather events. Extreme heat and drought conditions occurred between 2016 and 2019, creating stress on infrastructure and natural systems. While drought conditions ended in 2019, extreme wind, rain and snow events continue to impact coastal communities in this region. 

The Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP), a NOAA funded program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center, hosted a workshop at the end of March to address these events. Alaska Sea Grant’s Coastal Community Resilience Specialist, Davin Holen, led the effort, together with representatives from ACCAP, Alaska EPSCoR, the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, University of Alaska Southeast, National Weather Service Juneau, The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes, and the Northern Latitudes Partnership.

The goal of the March 2022 workshop was to build on the foundation of knowledge and information gained since 2019 and to assist with the development of community-driven adaptation strategies that serve the specific needs, challenges and opportunities of remote communities. The workshop covered topics including weather and climate, streams and salmon, freshwater and marine environments, the forest environment, and socioeconomics. Participants learned about recent research and decision support tools relevant to their adaptation planning needs. Ultimately, the workshop sought to create a list of specific adaptation strategies communities can implement. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

Analysis: What 5 previous congressional investigations can teach us about the House Jan. 6 committee hearings By JENNIFER SELIN - Six public hearings to be held in June by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection will attempt to answer the question of whether former President Donald Trump and his political allies broke the law in seeking to overturn the 2020 election results.

The Jan. 6 hearings are part of a long history of congressional investigation.

The first congressional inquiry occurred in the House in 1792 to investigate Gen. Arthur St. Clair’s role in the U.S. Army’s defeat in the Battle of the Wabash against the tribes of the Northwest Territory. The Senate conducted its first official investigation in 1818, looking into Gen. Andrew Jackson’s conduct in the Seminole War.

A look back at five of the most noteworthy congressional investigations since those initial probes suggests that Congress regularly has used its constitutional authority to gather facts and draw public attention to important issues in the country.

In 1871, Congress established a committee to investigate violence against and intimidation of Black voters in several states.

A year later, the committee produced 13 volumes of evidence containing the testimony of over 600 witnesses describing systemic violence – including killings, beatings, lynchings and rapes – committed by the Ku Klux Klan, known also as the KKK.

Despite extensive media coverage and the wealth of information uncovered by the committee, many Americans at that time still questioned the KKK’s existence.
Such skepticism was supported by the Democratic minority report that accompanied Congress’ investigation. At a time when Democrats represented the party that had supported slavery, their report legitimized the KKK’s actions in undeniably racist language. Segments of the public adopted the bigoted language and ideas contained in the minority report for decades to come. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

DAVE KIFFER: Still masking after all these years? - A while back I wondered if I would miss the masks that i have been wearing at work and elsewhere for most of the past couple of years.

The answer is yes.

For one thing, now I have to go back to shaving every morning. That's an extra five minutes out of my day that I won't get back - at least until I retire. Which is just about 500 days away, but who is counting?

When you think about it, shaving every morning is truly pushing your luck.

For example, you're tired.

If - like me - you are NOT bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6 am, shaving can lead to serious problems. Few places bleed as much as the face when punctured.

When I was a kid, I used to occasionally see grown guys wandering around with little bits of toilet paper stuck to their faces. Somehow that was considered less embarrassing than bleeding to death because they tried to get one last swipe out of a dull blade. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

MICHAEL REAGAN: STOPPING FUTURE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS STARTS AT HOME - Why is it that whenever we dig into the details of a mass shooting we wind up finding nothing but screw ups?

Police, schools, mental health officials, parents – they’ve all messed up in ways to make mass shootings possible or deadlier.

At the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, we learned that police responded within minutes but then stood around for almost an hour in the hallway while the shooter was barricaded in a classroom and still killing children.

We learned that there was no armed security guard stationed at the Robb school that day and that a door to the outside – which the shooter used to enter the building – did not lock automatically as it should have.

We also learned that the 18-year-old killer, as is so often the case, was known by his family, the authorities and his schoolmates to be a mentally unstable and scary gun nut, yet no one “red-flagged” him as a potential threat to himself or others. - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

FINANCIAL FOCUS: How should you respond to a bear market? Provided By BEN EDWARDS, AAMS® - So far, 2022 has not been a good year for investors. In fact, we’re moving into bear market territory. What should you know about bear markets? And how should you respond?

To begin with, a bear market occurs when a stock market index, such as the S&P 500, falls at least 20% from its most recent high point. You might think this type of drop is rare, but that’s not actually the case. Historically, bear markets have occurred every few years and are a normal feature of the investment landscape. We experienced a bear market fairly recently, from mid-February 2020 through late March of that same year.

What causes bear markets? Each one is different, but the current one is largely the result of several factors, including high inflation, rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and global supply chain problems.

When will the financial markets again start moving in a positive direction? No one can say for sure, but in any case, it’s not really a good idea to make investment decisions based on what may happen next in the financial markets. Instead, consider these moves: - More...
Thursday - June 02, 2022

POLITICAL CARTOONS

Political Cartoon: Uvalde Shooting and Life
by Gary McCoy©2022, Shiloh, IL
Distributed to subscribers for publication by CagleCartoons.com

Political Cartoon: Of Legal Age
by Dave Whamond©, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to subscribers for publication by CagleCartoons.com

Political Cartoon: Depp wins suit vs Heard
by Dave Granlund©2022, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to subscribers for publication by CagleCartoons.com

Political Cartoon: Degree In Arguing
by Gary McCoy©2022, Shiloh, IL
Distributed to subscribers for publication by CagleCartoons.com

Political Cartoon:  King Joe Sells Electric Cars
by Dick Wright©2022, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to subscribers for publication by CagleCartoons.com