Alaska: State-run health insurance exchange rejected the same day as final report released By Mary Kauffman, SitNews - The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services released the final report by Public Consulting Group (PCG) on Health Insurance Exchange Planning on Tuesday. As previously reported, Governor Sean Parnell (R-AK) announced that Alaska will not create a state-run health insurance exchange under the new federal health care law. His announcement came the same day that the State of Alaska completed a study on health insurance exchange planning.

“Allocating state dollars and personnel to design and implement an exchange is the most expensive option,” Governor Parnell said. “It doesn’t make sense to spend Alaskans’ dollars to set up an exchange when so much uncertainty exists about how to implement it and how to gain federal approval. Federally mandated programs should be paid for by federal dollars.”

Under the federal health care law, states are required to determine if they will develop and implement state-based exchanges or participate in a federally facilitated exchange developed and run by the federal government. This report provides the state of Alaska with information on exchange development options.

During the first half of this year, the Public Consulting Group (PCG) was contracted to evaluate the options available to the state and to complete a report outlining the differing exchange design options, the required communications plan, a discussion on financial stability, and a financial analysis of the costs of the Exchange. In the process an actuarial analysis of the Alaska market was also completed. - More...
Thursday - July 19, 2012

Ketchikan: Development of Youth Community Center Rallies Support From Community - A creative approach to providing in-kind donation of materials and services has been undertaken by First Bank of Ketchikan as part of their remodel project at their Financial Center.   After approaching Ketchikan Youth Initiatives (KYI) to inquire if there was a need for some “slightly used” construction materials, First Bank agreed to support the donation of all usable materials to Ketchikan Youth Initiatives for a community sale to benefit the Youth Center project.

The First Bank maintenance crew has been carefully dismantling, storing and helping move pre-hung doors, windows with frames, electrical fixtures and conduit and a large amount of R-19 insulation.  Others who stepped forward to help include Coastal Realty who arranged the use of the old Panhandle Rigging building to warehouse the materials and house the sale; clients and staff from Gateway Center for Human Services, an AKEELA program; youth from the Residential Youth Care residence program and KYI youth who have made quick work of moving and staging the materials. 

The “Gently used Construction Materials Sale” is scheduled for Saturday August 11th at 9 am, at the warehouse across from the Westflight building on Tongass Avenue.  Businesses including Madison Lumber, Island Tile, and Spenard Builders have also donated new items for the sale like a store front thermal door and flooring. - More...
Thursday - July 19, 2012

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Mail-borne Ballots By Hunter Davis - As long as the elections office can verify that the ballot was filled out and mailed by the registered voter it was addressed to, fine. But there is a reason I do not use my street address for mailings. I've watched people walk by my steps and look in the box. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

Peace & Tranquility? By Richard Rold - I live in an area in the Ketchikan Borough that is very beautiful, and once was peaceful, and quiet; that is why I moved here from town in the first place. Over the years the peacefulness, & the quiet, has gradually subsided; now it can be anything but peaceful. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

Burning Garbage By Kathy Doyle - To the people of Mile 10-11 North Tongass: Here it is a lovely warm summer night when it is so nice to open the windows and have a nice breath of fresh air. Instead you start to cough, cough, choke, gag on some one's disgusting trash smoke coming into your home. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

19th Nervous Breakdown By Chris Elliott - I'm not an expert on the healthcare law. Who is? After reading Mr. Spence's letter, I did a tiny bit of research. When the House passed the legislation sent to them by the Senate, the vote was 219 for and 212 against. 34 Democrats voted with all the Republicans. That's a pretty darn close vote for legislation that affects so many Americans and is such a big percentage of our economy. A recent Rasmussen poll (July 13-14) indicates that 52% of Americans favor repeal of the law and 42% oppose repeal. Again, pretty close. This is a VERY controversial issue. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

Mail In Ballots By Connie Williams - It is with a smile that I read the letters regarding the recent Ketchikan bond vote, and a whooping 7% return. How sad that such a small portion of the population was interested in what was being voted on, it should be in everyone's interest when it's going to cost you come property tax time. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

Too Many Life Guards? By Charlotte Tanner - I just had to respond to the letter asking if 4 life guards is too many at the small pool. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

Election Chaos Puts Ketchikan in Political Peril By John Harrington - The on-again, off-again State election district boundaries have created disarray and political danger particularly for Ketchikan. - More...
Saturday - July 14, 2012

Congress' Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown By Michael Spence - The most recent action of our US House of Representatives to repeal the Health Care Act reminds me of that Rolling Stones song about a spoiled adolescent who cannot reason: - More...
Saturday - July 14, 2012

Too many lifeguards? By Audiene Teal - I recently made a trip to our Ketchikan swimming pool with my family. We have children so we spent a lot of time in the kiddie pool so they could play and splash around. Now I know it is for our own safety to have lifeguards at the pool but there were four lifeguards that day at our little swimming pool. I felt it was in excess. - More...
Saturday - July 14, 2012

MAIL BALLOT THE ONLY CORRECT VOTING SOLUTION By Pete Ellis - Michael Spence has certainly "hit the nail on the head" in terms of local election needs and results.  The mail ballot is the only solution in terms of determining what the local voting residents really want. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

4th of July Fireworks By Catherine Brown - Thank you to all those who put together the festivities for the 4th and especially the fireworks display. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

“Oh, you’re so negative” By David G. Hanger - There is something particularly juvenile about the attitude that you can judge some other person, “Oh, you’re so negative,” and thereby invalidate anything that person might say. In the article that you were criticizing so harshly I actually discussed that local inclination briefly. Thus my simple observation that your ignorance has precluded the possibility that you begin to comprehend the fact that everything you said is far more negative than anything I have said. It even has a word or label by which it is called: nullification. It’s the old slay the messenger game because you don’t have the guts to deal with the message. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

Thank You By Sandy James- The Ketchikan Seventh-day Adventist Church would like to thank the community for supporting our Fund Raiser for a Sound System.  Shamburgers (veggie burgers) and Homemade Pies were a HUGE success. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012 

Thank You & Before the fireworks start By Ken Parks - I was at the fireworks display this fourth and was suitably impressed by the display, not so much from the locals shooting off roman candles as it was over my kids and almost at them a couple of times. This ironically enthused my kids and they still had a great time... I wanted to thank the City of Ketchikan and their workers for a great display, making it a fun and enjoyable as well as memorable event for my family. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

Whale watching By HelgaOhmer Ohmer - On Saturday morning (June 30), I enjoyed watching a big pod of killer whales going down the channel. I counted at least 12. All the boaters got out of the way, enjoying them from the distance. But not so for the two tourist outfits who turned around to get closer than comfort just for the sake of picture taking clients! - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

Spins & Facts By Paul Jarvie - Charley, thank you for your information. As a concerned voter you have taught me to check the facts for myself. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

A patch to grind??? By Joey Garcia - Bill Meck "Road" caption in the Jun 25 issue sure has something to reckon with. I think you should not go far inside the hillsides of Ketchikan to wrangle up enough spirits of something like what Bill was pointing about. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

Comeuppances By A. M. Johnson - Hummm, It would appear that I have been corrected by readers. I accept the comeuppances. Yet, there is good from this. The fact that these executive orders produce the wrong sided intent is made apparent. Kennedy, Bush, Obama whom ever. The bottom line is many of these executive orders affects the Constitution's intent of guarding against over bearing government intrusion or violation of our freedoms and rights under the Bill of Rights and the Constitution itself. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

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