Alaska: GOVERNOR PALIN ANNOUNCES NO SECOND TERM; SHE WILL STEP ASIDE - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced today that she will not seek a second term as Governor of the State of Alaska and will relegate the power of governor to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell in order to serve Alaska's best interests. Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will move into Parnell's current role.

"People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska," said Governor Palin. "Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine."

Standing outside her home in Wasilla, Alaska, Governor Palin reflected upon some of the administration's accomplishments for Alaska as she approaches her final year in office.

"I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path," said Governor Palin after the announcement. "Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional 'Lame Duck' status in this particular climate would just be another dose of 'politics as usual,' something I campaigned against and will always oppose. It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success. I look forward to helping others ­ to fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops, and energy independence." The transfer of power will occur following the Governor's picnic in Fairbanks on July 26. At that point in time, Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell will be sworn in and Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will assume his role as Lieutenant Governor. Governor Palin will spend July 4th in Juneau.

In his prepared remarks, Lt. Governor Sean Parnell said, "It is with a heavy heart that I hear these words. I so appreciate what you have done for our state and your sacrificial service. You have been a strong leader for our state, you've inspired a nation, and you've ignited the fire of real hope around the world."

Parnell said, "I profoundly respect your decision for I know the depth of character and integrity from which it springs. Rare, indeed, are such selfless acts seen in the public arena."

Parnell assured Alaskans of the good team in place to move Alaska forward and spoke briefly about what Alaskans can expect.

"We've got an extremely talented team of commissioners and I intend to keep them working hard for our state. I will work with the governor to coordinate with the cabinet and staffs on a seamless, stable transition. And, I will work closely with legislators, community leaders, and individual Alaskans to accomplish these ends," said Parnell. - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

Alaska: Temporary moratorium placed on some Medicaid applications and enrollment - The Alaska Division of Senior and Disabilities Services is working this summer in coordination with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve its compliance with federal standards in the areas of Home and Community Based Medicaid Waivers and Personal Care Services (Personal Care Assistance).

"We greatly appreciate the thorough and helpful review that CMS recently completed and we are eager to work hand-in-hand with them in any way that will better serve Alaskans who use and need our services," said Rebecca Hilgendorf, Director of Senior and Disabilities Services.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) review cited several areas in need of improvement to assure that the state's oversight of the Waivers and Personal Care Services is consistent with federal and state regulations. - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

Alaska: Parental Notice or Consent Initiative Certified - Alaska Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on Thursday certified an initiative that would require parental notice or consent before a minor under 18 years old could have an abortion, unless the teen submits a notarized statement that she is a victim of abuse by a parent or guardian, the teen convinces a court to bypass notice, or in the clinical judgment of the doctor, there is a medical emergency. This certification allows the initiative sponsors to proceed with gathering signatures required to place the measure on the ballot.

Lieutenant Governor Parnell's decision to certify the initiative, known as 09PIMA, was supported by a Department of Law legal opinion. The Department of Law's opinion, dated July 2, 2009, concluded that the bill and application are in the proper form, and that the application complies with the constitutional and statutory provisions governing the use of the initiative. - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

Alaska: New Experimental Forest Established in Tongass National Forest - The USDA Forest Service established a new experimental forest in Alaska on June 25. The 25,000-acre Héen Latinee Experimental Forest is located on the Tongass National Forest, and is easily accessible by road from Juneau, Alaska. It is part of the largest temperate rain forest in the world.

The Héen Latinee (heen la-tee'-nee), a Native American Tlingit name that means "River Watcher," will be managed jointly by the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Alaska Region. The new experimental forest provides an outstanding setting to conduct nationally-significant scientific research on how coastal temperate rain forests function. The experimental forest reaches from ridge to reef, from glacier to marine environment, over a short distance, allowing for studies crossing many different ecosystems. Héen Latinee is part of a nationwide network of more than 80 experimental forests and grasslands across the country.

A central focus of research will be to investigate how climate change affects a variety of forest-related resources. Those resources include: timber; carbon sequestration and dissolved carbon flux from land to ocean margins; salmon habitat and production; and recreational opportunities and their environmental needs and consequences. - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

Alaska Science: Of voles, bats, caribou, and the mammal with the big brain By NED ROZELL - One of the mammals discussed at the American Society of Mammologists 2009 Annual conference recently held at the University of Alaska Fairbanks was the human being. James Brown of the University of New Mexico is a desert ecologist who studies the relationships between energy and the body size of animals. He looked at the current global economic crisis with the hypothesis "that Homo sapiens have exceeded the carrying capacity of the earth and will never return to the level of social and economic development experienced from 1997-2007."

Energy powers the economy, Brown said, and most energy comes from fossil fuels, which are rapidly depleting. He wondered if it was possible to keep the economy growing when that action will take enormous amounts of fossil fuel. And, as population increases, there's also more pressure on the system.

"All organisms have a tendency for exponential expansion if the environment allows it," he said. "Humans have been able to do that for thousands of years, and the assumption is that it's always going to be constant."

Asked what has happened to other creatures when they've reached the carrying capacity of their environment, Brown said, "They tend to crash."

Brown said there are three ways for humans to avoid a crash. First, everyone should use less energy per capita. We use about five times the world's average, per person, in the United States. Second, the world's population should be lowered, and, finally, we need technological advances to bail us out.

"If you listen to some economists it's almost an economic law that technology will save us again," Brown said. "But, at some point, something will become limiting. Individual civilizations have collapsed over and over." - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

Ketchikan: LOCAL ROCK STARS NAMED - The Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce Events Committee recently requested submissions of names of 50 people who are "difference makers" in the community of Ketchikan. These are individuals that are renowned for going above and beyond the scope of their jobs or personal lives and demonstrating in some indisputable form or manner as contributing to the quality of life in Ketchikan, making Ketchikan the great place that it is.

According to an announcement, the easy part was receiving the names and realizing how many LOCAL ROCK STARS Ketchikan has. The hard part was only choosing 50.

Those named to the Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce's 50 ROCK STARS list are: - More....
Friday - July 03, 2009

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Re: Speech and Public Policy By Hunter Davis - I agree absolutely with Mr. Claus, thoroughly, completely, and joyously with your identification of some of the fantastic freedoms that we enjoy as Americans. - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

They got my $50 too! By Lynn Stewart - Yes, I too had the same frustrating experience. I was loading two kids, 5 bags into the airport. The young attendant came running inside to tell me that I was about to be ticketed. He knew who I was because I had made several trips into the building already, dragging kids back and forth (can't leave the kids behind). I rushed out to my car, got in and started the engine, the police car rushed up ahead of me and blocked my car (as if I could get away). He got out and came back to my window to inform me I was being ticketed. I tried to ask what my options were given my situation and I was told that was not his problem. I had left my vehicle "unattended" and that was that. - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

Mark Sanford By John Suter - Across America people are up in arms about South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford having sex with some woman from Argentina. That's not so bad. - More...
Friday - July 03, 2009

Right to speak freely to influence public policy By Bob Claus - I would like to take this occasion, the 233rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, to honor the courage and sacrifice of our forefathers and to salute the servicemen and women currently fighting on foreign fields for our freedom. - More...
Tuesday - June 30, 2009

Wow, did you Catch the Wave? By George Miller - A picture on the front page of The Daily News offered a glimpse of what happened Monday June 29th , here in Ketchikan. - More...
Tuesday - June 30, 2009

Spend, Spend, Spend By Samuel Bergeron - The majority of elected officials on the City Council and Borough Assembly seem to be thinking of more ways to indenture the fewer and fewer taxing units (that's you and me), while at the same time exporting our economy to outside contractors and vendors. The recent construction contracts for Berths 3 and 4, and the design of the Way-finding signs are just a few examples of this process. - More...
Saturday - June 27, 2009

Health care bill unworkable, unaffordable By U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski - Americans are looking to Congress and the White House to see whether lawmakers and the president will deliver on their promises to reform our health care system. As a member of the Senate committee considering comprehensive health care reform legislation, I am committed to working with both my Republican and Democratic colleagues. - More...
Saturday - June 27, 2009

Is Oceans Alaska going to put you and me out of business while using our tax dollars? By Rob Holston - John Sund indicates that Oceans Alaska will depend on revenue from the visitor industry their first year of operation by selling shore excursions i.e. tours of the aquarium facility to 122,000 tourists! This number will increase to 150,000 visitors per summer season according to the Oceans Alaska business plan. - More...
Friday - June 26, 2009

Re: Out of Sight By Frances H. Field - Ms. Price is not the only one who has had an issue with airport parking tickets at Ketchikan airport. On June 23rd at approximately 7:15 PM I was on an outgoing plane with 6 heavy bags, a car seat, a 2 year old, and I am 5 months pregnant. My 65 year old mother, pulled up to the loading zone right in front of the revolving doors to allow me to move the bags and my daughter through the doors and then she was going to go park in short term. My mother came out of the car to assist me after my 2 year old tripped and nearly got smashed in the revolving door. My mother got my daughter through the door and immediately returned to her car to find an officer writing her a $50 ticket. - More...
Friday - June 26, 2009

UAS Ketchikan By Cameron Taylor - During high school, I never had any interest in going to college after graduating. It was at the end of my senior year that I decided last minute to attend UAS Ketchikan. I still believe that it was the best decision that I have made. - More...
Friday - June 26, 2009

Reporting NNN By Heather Williams - Thank you to the Browns for their honest assessment of the "progressive" NNN (No News News), as I have been calling it for the last several years. I can get opinions anywhere but would LOVE to sit and watch a newscast which is FACTUAL in regard to ALL world news. - More...
Friday - June 26, 2009

Ketchikan Pool Bond Vote By Doug Barry - Recent letters about K-town's bond proposal for a new pool caught my eye. Mr. Bylund's view seems extremely shortsided given the maritime location, industries and recreational activities that define the region. Dave Kiffer's letter has a more pragmatic angle and reminded me of my early years growing up in Ketchikan. - More...
Monday - June 22, 2009

The Mayor and Pool By Rodney Dial - I wasn't going to get into the pool drama until the Mayor (Kiffer) lambasted Mr. Bylund in the matter of what is important to this community. - More...
Monday - June 22, 2009

Out of sight By Laurie Price - I arrived at Ketchikan airport on the afternoon flight with my twenty month old grandson. Dropped my carry on bag with a friend who was also waiting for the luggage to arrive, and went to get my car which was parked in long term parking. - More...
Monday - June 22, 2009

From Bias to Adoration. By Tina Terry - Thanks for the Browns' excellent article, "From Bias to Adoration..." I, too, continue to marvel at the continuing breathtaking idiocy of the media's "useful idiots," which relentlessly keeps expanding instead of contracting. - More...
Monday - June 22, 2009

Gas For The U.S. By Donald A. Moskowitz - I want to commend Governor Palin and her fellow Alaskans for passing The Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA), which set the stage for Trans Canada and ExxonMobil to enter into an agreement for the construction of a natural gas pipeline. - More...
Monday - June 22, 2009

DNA Testing By Peter Bolling - Today the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Alaska's policy of not granting post-conviction DNA testing to inmates even if they are willing to pay for the tests. This is not a victory for Alaska or Alaskans.- More...
Friday - June 19, 2009

Re: Ketchikan Pool Bond Vote by Ken Bylund - Damage control? Obfuscation and angry mud slinging instead of apologizing for poor ethics when you discussed hiding the truth about how the pool bond would be paid, you actually considered telling the residents, it will be covered by a 1/2 cent recreational sales tax. Want the borough attorney to run for Mayor! Okay, how much, and for how long... no more dodging the truth, provide detailed numbers to the voters on this capital issue. - More...
Friday - June 19, 2009

Re: Ketchikan Pool Bond Vote By Dave Kiffer - I'm glad that Mr. Bylund considers himself an expert on the "general welfare" of this community. But either he wasn't here in the 1960s when I was growing up or he wasn't paying attention. - More...
Thursday - June 18, 2009

Kake: Have your forest and eat it too? By Sarah Campen - Whether it's fish, game, serenity, or jobs, properly managed forests in Southeast Alaska can provide us what we need on many levels. In communities like Kake, struggling against high unemployment and high costs of living, meeting local needs with local resources just makes sense. That's exactly what Kake residents and the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council proposed through the Kake Community Alternative to the upcoming Central Kupreanof timer sale. - More...
Thursday - June 18, 2009

KETCHIKAN POOL BOND VOTE by Ken Bylund - Thanking Mr. Damstedt, for Wednesday's, June 17th article in the Ketchikan Daily News titled, 'Pool bond vote moves forward'. If anyone missed it, more recommended reading! In the end, it appears everyone in the borough will be paying for a $23.5 million bond [loan] for the next thirty years. The cost [for us] will be $23,500,000 [23.5 million] + 15% contingency [~$3,500,000] -- double this in interest, ~ fifty million USD [$50,000,000] for a swimming pool that roughly 500 people out of the entire population of our borough... will enjoy. How does this meet any standard of providing for the general welfare of the community? - More...
Wednesday - June 17, 2009

Letting the public know By Eileen Small - I realize that the last Tea Party event came up rather suddenly and thus it was difficult to get any advance news coverage. Those of us involved in the Tea Party Patriot Move didn't want to be guilty of this error a second time. - More...
Wednesday - June 17, 2009

Boys & Girls Club By Chris Corrao - The Boys & Girls Club is now open with its new summer hours. The Club is open Monday - Thursday 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM at 645 Jackson Street (the National Guard Armory). - More...
Wednesday - June 17, 2009

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO COME FORWARD TO SUPPORT OUR YOUTH. By Roberta "Bobbie" McCreary - A very BIG thank you to the following people WITHOUT WHICH we would not have had a really cool YOUTH ART AUCTION that earned nearly $1000 for our young artists. - More...
Monday PM - June 15, 2009

THANK YOU! TO OUR COMMUNITY FROM THE HOT SHOTS PAINTBALL GROUP By Roberta "Bobbie" McCreary - WE cannot say enough to thank those who come forward to help our youth programs succeed. Last month, we benefitted from over a $1,000 of product and services donated to provide wood chips to make the paintball field safe for players. Thank you to Mike Stewart (First City Wood Haulers) and Wade King Trucking who showed up at 7am on a Sunday morning to deliver 14 loads of wood chips to the field. And to Merril Stulkin who brought his equipment out to the field and spread the chips. - More...
Monday PM - June 15, 2009

Regarding More AK Airlines Fees By LeiLani Lake - It may sound good Ms. Steiner to say that another airline coming to Ketchikan would resolve our airfare and additional luggage fee problems but it won't. Alaska Airlines is only one of many airlines that now charge to your first bag. Actually I believe it was American Airlines that started this trend. - More...
Monday PM - June 12, 2009

An Educated and Experienced Description of the Life cycle of a Dungeness Crab* or Why They Should Not Be Fished in the Summer By Larry Painter - When I first came to S. E. Alaska in the late 60's we pot fished Dungeness Crab and Spot Prawns all year 'round. There was no closed season for either like there was for Salmon that I seined only in the summer and fall with openings regulated by Fish and Game. As I gained experience I noticed that Dungeness Crab started showing soft shells around late February. Through the summer they all go through a soft shell stage. Around September to October they are hard shelled and full of meat. At this time they are in prime condition! That's the time to start fishing! - More...
Friday - June 12, 2009

Logjam By Elaine Price - You need to hear and understand the story of two little boys in Coffman Cove. These two little boys are supported by a logger, a "faller" to be exact. His paychecks earned from the timber industry work he does provides for these two little boys and their mother.

These two little boys are vitally important to the future of Coffman Cove, to the future of the school here, and to the infrastructure, other jobs, and many businesses across Prince of Wales Island. How can two little boys from Coffman Cove be that important to a regional economy? - More...
Friday - June 12, 2009

Suislaw Forest By Michael Moyer - My comment is directed to Don Borders and all that may believe that just because the forests of Washington and Oregon have vegetation on the hills that all is well in the woods there. Not so. When my Great Grandfather worked in the woods of Washington they didn't use trucks to haul the logs out, they built railroads. They cut everything. They choked the creeks and dredged the rivers, dammed them up and then blew the dams so the logs would flood downstream. They messed up the hills and rivers so bad that even today the fish haven't come back and the original river channels are far from what they used to be. - More...
Friday - June 12, 2009

More AK Airlines Fees By Julie Steiner - It's not bad enough that Alaska Airlines increases their fares for flying to an astronomical price, that they now have to charge each person a fee to take their bags with them? Effective July 15th, they are going to charge EVERYONE a fee of $15 for the first checked bag. And the fee for each additional bag keeps increasing. - More...
Friday - June 12, 2009

Akasofu's predictions By John Ziraldo - Thank you for publishing the article about Syun-Ichi Akasofu's predictions. The continuing lies by the IPCC about climate change, and the political will of the far left to use these lies to impoverish us makes it very critical that articles like these get published. - More...
Friday - June 12, 2009

Traffic, Ferries and Bridges, Oh My! By Marshall H. Massengale - I have been a regular SitNews visitor and Ketchikan watcher for the past nearly two years and have read any number of articles, comments, editorials, opinions, letters, and official documents concerning many of the borough's frequently discussed and debated transportation issues. These issues have included the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" debacle, vehicle traffic congestion, slow drivers, fast drivers, parking, ferry boats in and out of repair, and now the latest rant about a paddle wheel boat that kicks up a wake in the Narrows. - More...
Friday - June 12, 2009

Create Jobs for Americans By Donald A. Moskowitz - A while ago I read that Bill Gates and Mayor Michael Bloomberg were planning on donating a total of $500 million to reduce the incidence of smoking in developing countries, especially China. I haven't seen any recent information on this subject, but I believe they made a commitment to this ridiculous project. - More...
Friday - June 12, 2009

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