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Ketchikan: Browne tenders resignation from school board - Earlier today, Ketchikan School Board Member Misty Browne tendered her resignation from the board, effective immediately.  Browne was elected to the Board of Education for a three-year term in October 2015 with her term to expire October 2018.

School Board President Trevor Shaw in a prepared statement said, "Misty Browne has served as a passionate and engaged member of the Ketchikan School Board for almost five years; having served a three-year term from 2011 to 2014, and again serving from 2015 to 2017. Her commitment to the citizens and children of Ketchikan is appreciated beyond words. On behalf of the Board of Education, I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Misty for her years of service to our community. She truly was an amazing asset to our Board. We wish her the greatest success in her future endeavors." 

The Ketchikan Board of Education will consider acceptance of the resignation at the School Board meeting Wednesday night. If the resignation is accepted, the Board will have thirty days from then to fill the vacancy resulting from the resignation. The appointee will serve until a replacement is chosen by the voters in the October municipal election. - More...
Tuesday PM - July 11, 2017

“Health care costs are increasingly unaffordable for a growing number of Alaskans,” Governor Walker said. “This waiver provides relief from large premium hikes for 23,000 Alaskans who are currently insured through the individual market. I thank the Trump Administration, members of the legislature, and the congressional delegation for their efforts. I especially thank Division of Insurance Director Lori Wing-Heier for proposing this innovation for Alaska, which has also served as a model for other states.”

The Alaska Reinsurance Program uses federal money to re-insure claims for Alaskans with high-cost medical conditions, which reduces premiums for all of the roughly 23,000 Alaskans in the individual market.  This, in turn, reduces federal subsidies across the market.  The federal innovation waiver passes the savings from reduced federal tax credits back to the state government. Essentially, federal funds offset the price of insuring those with high-cost medical conditions.

Premiums in the individual market are expected to decrease by approximately 20 percent as a result of this program. With recent announcements of double-digit premium hikes and insurers exiting individual markets across the nation, many states have expressed interest in adopting Alaska’s model to stabilize their individual health insurance markets.

As a result of the waiver approval, more consumers in Alaska may have coverage, consumers will see lower premiums, and the state will receive pass-through funding to help offset a substantial portion of state costs for the state-operated reinsurance program.

Alaska predicts that an average of 1,460 additional individuals will have health insurance coverage due to the lower cost of healthcare through stabilization of the individual market.

“Alaska has among the highest health care premiums in the nation, and I’m pleased that the federal government has worked with the state to pursue innovative solutions for stabilizing our market,” said Alaska Division of Insurance Director Lori Wing-Heier.

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) today commended the Trump Administration, including Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma, for working with the State of Alaska to grant a State Innovation Waiver under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act. - More...
Tuesday PM - July 11, 2017

Alaska: EPA Proposes to Withdraw Clean Water Act Restrictions for Pebble Mine - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to withdraw its July 2014 Clean Water Act Proposed Determination that would, if finalized, have imposed restrictions on the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with the potential “Pebble Mine” in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed. EPA is seeking public comment on whether to withdraw the Proposed Determination.

EPA is consulting on the proposed withdrawal with federally-recognized tribal governments of the Bristol Bay region and with Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Regional and Village Corporations with lands in the Bristol Bay watershed. The public comment and tribal consultation process allows EPA to hear from the public before final decisions are made. After the close of the public comment and tribal consultation process, the EPA will decide whether to issue a final withdrawal of the 2014 Proposed Determination. EPA is also requesting public comment on whether the EPA Administrator should review and reconsider a final withdrawal decision, if such a decision is made.

On May 11, 2017, EPA entered into a settlement agreement with the Pebble Limited Partnership to resolve litigation from 2014 relating to EPA's prior work in the Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska. The settlement provided the Pebble Limited Partnership (Pebble) an opportunity to apply for a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before EPA may move forward with its Clean Water Act process to specify limits on the disposal of certain material in connection with the potential “Pebble Mine.”  - More...
Tuesday PM - July 11, 2017

Alaska: UFA’s Salmon Habitat Program Launches Sweepstakes to Bring Habitat Info to Fishermen - United Fishermen of Alaska’s Salmon Habitat Information Program (SHIP) has launched two summer sweepstakes to connect with commercial fishermen for important information regarding salmon habitat. Winners will be selected from fishermen who enter the drawing through a text campaign or Facebook comments to win Alaska Airlines and LFS, Inc gift certificates.

Fishermen can text “ufaship” to 313131 and United Fishermen of Alaska (UAF) will text back four chances to win, or participants can go to UFA’s SHIP Facebook page and predict Bristol Bay’s total sockeye salmon harvest. The contests offer prizes of $200 Alaska Airlines or $100 and $50 Alaska Airlines Gift Cards and present exciting ways for fishermen to stay up-to-date. 

“Since the start of this program we have heard from thousands of Alaska fishermen. Fishermen care deeply about all issues related to salmon habitat, from ocean acidification and water quality to in river impacts such as dewatering and blocked fish passage.  We have also learned that fishermen have a variety of preferred communication styles – texting, social media or email - and we created these sweepstakes to increase our reach to fishermen through multiple channels,” said Lindsey Bloom, UFA’s SHIP Program Manager.  - More...
Tuesday PM - July 11, 2017

DAVE KIFFER: We've got spirit, we've got soul, 77, we got old! - Recently I spent some time with a group of really old people, the Ketchikan High School Class of 1977. It was our fortieth high school reunion. Naturally, I have some thoughts about that.

Good evening fellow old people, also known as the Ketchikan High School class of 77. 

Of course at 58, more or less, I could say we are middle aged. But who am I kidding?  We aren’t at the middle of anything, except the buffet line.  In fact, if we were in the Middle Ages we would already be long gone.

Anyway, some of us still have spirit, a few of us still have our souls, but 2027 that’s our (new) goal!

It seems like just yesterday it was 1977 and we were stumbling over each other down the aisles of the old Kayhi auditorium in the dark, trying to remember which foot to put forward at which beat to the melody of “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Come to think of it, it might have actually been yesterday. These days, my short-term memory is about as hazy as a rainy day in Ketchikan, and just about as common. Which graduating class is this?

Oh yes, 1977. My class. I know that because my diploma says 1977. I am actually looking at it right now. I keep it with me at all times. It’s important to have a clue who you are in today’s world.

Some very important Ketchikan people signed it, so it must be true.  Look at these names. Charles Lowery, R.E. Steckl, Alaire Stanton, Ann Graham. Wow, I think those are all my Facebook friends. - More...
Tuesday PM - July 11, 2017

CARL GOLDEN: GOP's New Healthcare Slogan: Retreat and Regret - Given the ongoing inability of Congressional Republicans to agree on a new national health care program, their seven-year long battle cry of "repeal and replace" Obamacare has been largely silenced and amended to "retreat and regret."

The House of Representatives tried twice to approve a repeal and replace bill and scraped by with a four-vote margin.It's been downhill ever since in the Senate where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised action before the Fourth of July break only to back off because he was unable to round up 50 votes.

The prospects for passage of the Senate bill has grown even dimmer as Senators returned home to confront packs of constituents angry over potentially losing their government subsidized health care.

The "repeal and replace" mantra repeated endlessly by Republicans was typical of the hollowness which afflicts so much of the public debate surrounding complex issues. 

Aside from promises to let free market principles control health care costs, the specifics offered would fill a post-it note.

Shouting "repeal and replace" to political rally crowds may have drawn cheers, but it was little more than the kind of bumper sticker policies common in campaigns. - More...
Tuesday PM - July 11, 2017