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Alaska: State Elections Officials Certify Primary Election Ballots - The State of Alaska Division of Elections director has certified the August 21, 2018 Primary Election ballots for printing. 

The deadline for party replacement candidates, withdrawal for party candidates, and to change how a candidate’s name appears on the ballot was July 2.

The division has been working with the Department of Law to design ballots coinciding with the findings released in April of the Alaska Supreme Court in the State of Alaska vs Alaska Democratic Party case. Voters will see minor changes on the primary ballots this year including new headers. Candidates running on the Alaskan Independence, Alaska Democratic, Alaska Libertarian (A-D-L) ballots will all have one of the following political affiliation codes listed after their name: (A) Alaska Independence, (D) Democrat, (L) Libertarian, (N) Nonpartisan, and (U) Undeclared. The header for Alaska Republican Party ballots now include information specifying that all candidates are registered Republicans.

“We want voters to become familiar with the process and what they can expect when they participate in early or absentee voting or head to their polling locations on Election Day,” said State Elections Director Josie Bahnke. “We are committed to providing Alaskans with the information they need to make informed choices this year.” - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018

Science - Technology: Bacteria-powered solar cell converts light to energy, even under overcast skies - University of British Columbia researchers have found a cheap, sustainable way to build a solar cell using bacteria that convert light to energy.

Their cell generated a current stronger than any previously recorded from such a device, and worked as efficiently in dim light as in bright light.

This innovation could be a step toward wider adoption of solar power in places like British Columbia and parts of Southeast Alaska and northern Europe where overcast skies are common. With further development, these solar cells - called “biogenic” because they are made of living organisms - could become as efficient as the synthetic cells used in conventional solar panels.

“Our solution to a uniquely B.C. problem is a significant step toward making solar energy more economical,” said Vikramaditya Yadav, a professor in UBC’s department of chemical and biological engineering who led the project.

Solar cells are the building blocks of solar panels. They do the work of converting light into electrical current. Previous efforts to build biogenic solar cells have focused on extracting the natural dye that bacteria use for photosynthesis. It’s a costly and complex process that involves toxic solvents and can cause the dye to degrade. - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018

Alaska: NOAA Closes Investigation into Unusual Mortality Events for Large Whales, Ice Seals - When there is a large die-off of marine mammals, experts from NOAA Fisheries and their partners try to identify the reasons for what's known as an Unusual Mortality Event, or UME. Unfortunately, in about half of UMEs, a cause is never determined according to NOAA.

That’s the case with the Large Whale UME declared in 2015 for large whales in British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska, as well as the 2011 Alaska Northern Pinniped UME, which impacted four species of ice-associated seals, and walruses. The Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Eventshas closed both UMEs, although what caused those events still remains a mystery.

What is an Unusual Mortality Event?

An Unusual Mortality Event (UME) is defined under the Marine Mammal Protection Act as “a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands an immediate response.” 

In recent years, increased efforts to examine carcasses and live-stranded animals have improved the knowledge of mortality rates and causes, allowing a better understanding of population threats and stressors, and the ability to determine when a situation is “unusual.”

Understanding and investigating marine mammal UMEs is important because they can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare.

Declaration of a UME brings more focus and resources to help the investigation, and enables NOAA Fisheries to form an investigative team.

Since the marine mammal UME program was established in 1991, there have been 65 formally recognized UMEs in the U.S., involving a variety of species and dozens to hundreds of individual marine mammals per event.

Causes have been determined for 32 of the 65 UMEs, and have included infections, malnutrition, human interactions, and biotoxins—such as those from harmful algal blooms. - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018

Alaska: Bodies of Missing Hikers Found in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve - Last week National Park Service rangers recovered the bodies of two hikers along the Sanford River in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Preliminary identification by NPS law enforcement matches that of two backpackers that were last seen on June 22 when they were dropped off by an air taxi operator at the Sanford Glacier airstrip less than two miles from where the bodies were found.

The backpackers were 62-year old Rochelle Renken and 62-year old Michael Huffman, both from Columbia, Missouri. The couple were experienced backpackers and Renken has been to Alaska several times in the past and had previous experience crossing Alaskan rivers. Positive identification is pending from the State Medical Examiner. The deaths appear to be accidental. No foul play is suspected.

After the hikers failed to make their airstrip pick-up at the Dadina River on June 27 and missed two pre-planned satellite phone calls with the air taxi service, the service notified the National Park Service. The NPS initiated an intensive aerial and ground search for the couple on June 27. By June 28 there were 27 people and five aircraft involved in the search for the missing couple. By the end of June, search crews found footprints along the Sanford River where it emerges from the Sanford Glacier. The footprints were indicative of two people preparing for a river crossing. - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018

Alaska Science: It's time for Alaska's mosquitoes to shine By NED ROZELL - Here are some tips to avoid mosquitoes this summer: First, wear light-colored clothing. Second, bathe more often in an attempt to be as odorless as possible. Third, avoid exhaling while in the woods.

“Snow mosquitoes,” the big, sluggish mosquitoes that were the first to emerge, survived the winter by bundling up in leaf litter or wedging themselves under loose tree bark. Like many hibernating insects, overwintering mosquitoes depend on supercooling, a process by which an animal has the ability to rid its body fluids of impurities that would trigger the formation of ice. Supercooling allows the mosquito to cool down below 32 degrees Fahrenheit without its cell walls bursting.

Mosquitoes in hibernation can survive temperatures down to about 25 below zero. But years with a meager snowpack may cause quite a few mosquitoes to freeze and die during frigid weather. Yellowjackets, also supercoolers, may take quite a hit in low snow years.

But a lack of snow doesn’t harm the eggs of mosquitoes. Those eggs are the source of the smaller, faster mosquito species that hatch later in the summer.

Mosquito eggs laid in the fall float atop standing bodies of water ranging in size from Wonder Lake to a water-filled moose track in the tundra. Dozens of species of mosquitoes hatch from these eggs, spread all over Alaska.

Only female mosquitoes bother us. Females need blood’s protein to develop their ovaries and make more mosquitoes. Males survive by sipping nectar from flowers and sucking juices from fruit; females also supplement their diet with nectar. While both males and females have antennae, the males’ are much more garish, protruding like large feathers. The males’ antennae act as tuning forks, resonating to the whine produced by the wings of females. During mating season, a few to a few thousand males gather together in swarms. Males in the cloud seize any female that wanders inside. Like dragonflies, mosquitoes mate in mid-air.

Once fertilized by the male, the female mosquito searches for a blood donor. Using sensors on its antennae, a mosquito picks up animals’ body odor and carbon dioxide (a gas we exhale, along with water vapor). The female mosquito follows the trail upwind to its source. Once mosquitoes get closer, they’re attracted to other cues such as dark colors, moisture in the air and silhouettes of potential victims. - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018

Ketchikan: Long Term Drug investigation Leads to Multiple Arrests, Charges - The Ketchikan Police Department completed a long term investigation into the sales of Methamphetamine and Heroin in Ketchikan during the week of June 25th.

Ketchikan: Man arrested for attempted arson - Saturday at approximately 8:09 PM, the Alaska State Troopers, Saxman VPSO and the South Tongass Fire Department responded to a report of a male causing a disturbance at a residence in the 6300 block of S. Tongass Highway. 

According to the Alaska State Trooper's Dispatch, the male was attempting to set the residence on fire and was pouring gasoline inside. 

Upon the arrival of the Troopers, the male, identified as Robert Pickrell, age 40 of Ketchikan, was found inside the residence intoxicated.  Three other persons were inside the residence at the time. - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018

Ketchikan: Man runs from police, captured, charged with vehicle theft, felony DUI & more... - Officers of the City of Ketchikan Police Department were dispatched to the 600 block of Park Avenue for an intoxicated driver on 07/01/18 at approximately 6:15 PM. According to a press release, when Sgt. Cheatam arrived and he saw the vehicle with Darren R. C. Baines, age 27, in the driver’s seat. According to the Officer's report, Baines put the vehicle in reverse, gunned the engine and struck a flag pole causing damage. Baines then drove forward trying to get around Sgt. Cheatam and struck Cheatam's marked police vehicle causing damage.

A vehicle pursuit ensued and Baines eluded officers. Citizen’s called the police department with information throughout the search. A person called shortly before 7:00 PM and stated the vehicle was in the Plaza Parking lot and saw Baines enter Safeway Grocery Store. - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018

MICHAEL REAGAN: The Democrats' Socialist Meltdown - What a great July 4.

The skies over America the Beautiful were filled with fireworks, and the Twittersphere was filled with three Democratic senators blowing themselves up.

My U.S. senator Kamal Harris, Massachusetts' Elizabeth Warren and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand spent their holiday week attacking President Trump in speeches and tweets.

It was rough stuff from three lefties who think they're going to be the next president and apparently think that tweeting like Trump is going to make their delusion come true.

Sen. Harris of California warned her followers that Trump is planning to nominate someone who'll overturn Roe v. Wade because she's certain he wants to punish women "for wanting to control their bodies, their lives, and their futures."

Sen. Warren tweeted to her followers and fellow Native Americans that Trump's short list of Supreme Court nominees "was hand-picked by right-wing extremists who want to criminalize abortions."

And Sen. Gillibrand echoed socialist Bernie Sanders, hitting the president for strictly enforcing immigration laws that separated illegal immigrants from their children at the Mexican border.

No word on what CNN pundit-in-training Stormy Daniels tweeted, probably because she's still touring the senior strip-club circuit.

The Democrats are in deep trouble and they know it. As Trump is only getting stronger, wilier and more popular, Democrats only get more desperate and stupid.

When Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement last week, the thought of President Trump naming his successor sent Democrats into a complete meltdown. 

The mental state of the typical diehard Democrat or MSNBC host is now somewhere between terrified and my congresswoman Maxine Waters. - More...
Monday PM - July 09, 2018