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Saturday
September 06, 2014
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Haida Chief
In the background is Gravina Island. The Fishing Vessel is headed south.
Front Page Photo By CARL THOMPSON ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Alaska: Adjutant General Out After Release of National Guard Report; Governor calls for Special Team to Restore Respect and Responsibility - Following the conclusion of a six-month independent review and assessment of open and closed investigations related to reports of sexual assault, rape and fraud among members of the Alaska National Guard, Governor Sean Parnell released the findings Thursday, and took the resignation of the adjutant general, Major General Thomas H. Katkus. The governor originally requested the assessment from the National Guard Bureau Office of Complex Investigations (OCI) in February.
Pictured is Governor Sean Parnell announcing the release of the findings of the National Guard Bureau Office of Complex Investigations (OCI) regarding allegations of misconduct in the Alaska National Guard
Photo courtesy Office of the Governor
The report found Guard members have a lack of trust and confidence in the Alaska National Guard leadership’s ability to handle sexual assault cases and other misconduct. Further, the report found that favoritism, ethical misconduct and fear of reprisal have eroded trust and confidence in Guard leadership.
“The dedicated men and women who serve in the Alaska National Guard deserve better and I am committed to restoring the trust they are entitled to,” Governor Parnell said. “While the report’s findings are deeply troubling, I know that the overwhelming majority of Alaska National Guard personnel serve admirably and honorably. We will take all necessary steps to ensure respect, responsibility and trust are restored.”
Governor Parnell requested and received the resignation of Major General Thomas H. Katkus, adjutant general, and commissioner of Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Brigadier General Mike Bridges will serve as acting commissioner on an interim basis until a new adjutant general is named. The governor will also closely examine the command structure within the Alaska National Guard, which will include further staffing changes.
Governor Parnell requested the National Guard Bureau’s help in assembling a team to implement the recommendations in the report to restore a healthy and safe working environment for the men and women of the Guard. The governor has requested the OCI provide personnel to assist with implementing the recommendations outlined in the report. The team will include a representative from the Office of the Governor.
Governor Parnell, who is running for reelection, has requested a further investigation into allegations of fraud pertaining to the misuse of Guard assets.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Katkus provided his letter of resignation to the governor effective Sept. 4.
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Quoting a news release from the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Brig. Gen. Mike Bridges, currently the acting commissioner for the DMVA and acting adjutant general for the Alaska National Guard, is working with his team to fully digest the findings of the OCI report. The governor has stated that he will appoint a task force to provide guidance in response to the findings, and Alaska National Guard leadership is prepared to be responsive to all recommendations. There is a strong desire to move forward with employing plans that will benefit members of the organization and instill a more trusting working environment.
According to Brig. Gen. Bridges, the Alaska National Guard will be supportive of the governor’s task force and subcommittees who will provide direction in response to the findings of the OCI report. We want to be engaged in the process of implementing solutions to all issues and concerns presented by the governor’s task force.
“This is a time to learn from the past and look forward to the future with a desire to provide the best and most responsive work-place environment possible,” said Bridges. “There are areas for improvement, and we acknowledge that there is a perception of mistrust in our command. There has been a seamless transition in command, and there is no void in leadership of the Alaska National Guard.”
The Alaska National Guard’s citizen-Soldiers and Airmen are an impressive team of professionals who are committed to our state and our nation. They are trained and equipped to be the first military responders in all state emergencies; they have performed more than two-thousand life-saving, state-side rescues in the past two decades; and more than 3,700 have deployed in support of the Global War on Terror since 9/11, said Bridges.
“We must continue to do all that we can to ensure the Alaska National Guard is a positive and safe working environment for this incredible group of people that make up more than 99 percent of our organization,” said Bridges. “We support the governor’s direction as our commander-in-chief, and look forward to implementing any recommendations directed by his task force.”
Bill Walker, a candidate for Alaska governor, responded to the report saying Alaska owes a debt of gratitude to the guardsmen who risked their careers and faced retribution to confront the abuse of power, violence against women, and intimidation within the Guard. Without their courage and tenacity, the victims would remain voiceless in their attempts to report the abuse. And without accountability, this dangerous culture would persist within the National Guard indefinitely. - More...
Saturday PM - September 06, 2014 |
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Alaska: Alaska Health Insurance Rates to Increase Substantially - The Alaska Division of Insurance announced that rates for health insurance plans covering nearly 16,000 Alaskans will increase substantially in 2015 with the Division saying this is the result of the Affordable Care Act.
A thorough and lengthy review by the Division of Insurance shows that as a direct result of the ACA, insurers offering health plans in the individual market require historic rate increases, as high as 37 percent in 2015. Despite these increases, extensive cost and loss data show that these insurers will still incur millions of dollars in losses.
“Governor Parnell has expressed concern from the beginning that Obamacare’s one-size-fits-all approach to health care for Alaskans is not going to work in our state, and that heavy-handed federal mandates, taxes, and penalties will only add to Alaska’s health care costs,” said Susan Bell, commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. “His concerns are, unfortunately, proving to be true.”
The most significant increases will impact Alaskans purchasing individual insurance both in and out of the Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM). The hardest hit will be the approximately 6,000 Alaskans who pay for their own health insurance and do not receive federal subsidies through the exchange. Actual premiums will vary and may be higher or lower than the aggregate rate.
According to a news release from the Alaska Division of Insurance. in 2013 and 2014, the Parnell administration protected Alaskans from cost increases by allowing individuals to keep health care plans that were grandfathered in, and not in compliance with the costly federal mandates, for as long as possible.
“As a result of state action over the past year, Alaskans who liked their grandfathered plans were able to keep them,” said Commissioner Bell. “Until late 2016, they are able to retain their current plan, which in most cases is a less costly option than the plans offered in the federal exchange. The Division of Insurance will continue to actively seek ways to protect Alaskans from further Obamacare regulations that increase their costs.”
The Division of Insurance is required by state statute and federal regulation to review insurance rates annually.
“The Division of Insurance has applied a rigorous review of the rate increases requested by insurers,” said Division of Insurance Director Lori Wing-Heier. “Our staff has gone over the information with a fine tooth comb to ensure that the rates are in line with the expected claim experience in the individual market to ascertain that the insurer retains the financial ability to pay the claims." |
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Wing-Heier said, "The division is required by state law (AS 21.54.015 and AS 21.51.405) to approve rates when the rate is justified based on the historic results of the plan, and in 2014, the results are not good. The combination of high health care utilizers and the impact of new federal mandates created a very large expense that is too big to be spread across participants without a significant increase in rates."
Wing-Heier said, " In larger states, they have a large enough population to spread this expense more evenly, but in Alaska we simply don’t have that volume. The state does not have the legal authority to order an insurer to not comply with an Obamacare mandate. If an Obamacare requirement has a cost associated with it, unfortunately consumers shoulder that cost through the rates and in the individual market the data confirms that the rates need to be increased.”
U.S. Senator Mark Begich (D-AK), running for reelection, stated in a news release, the Alaska Division of Insurance only included the largest increase in its announcement, not the full range of options available for Alaskans.
Begich said, “After leaving millions of dollars of federal funding on the table and refusing to accept the Medicaid expansion to cover tens of thousands of Alaskans, it is frustrating to now see the State and Governor Parnell try and pass the buck on to consumers and use partisan scare tactics to confuse Alaskans about their health care.” Begich said, "This news also reinforces the need for my Copper Plan which would help increase choices and lower costs for Alaskans. Alaskans deserve better, and I will keep fighting to make sure all Alaskans have affordable access to health care. - More...
Saturday PM - September 06, 2014
Southeast Alaska: Native American tribes in Alaska receive grants to preserve language - The Yakutat Tlingit Tribe of Alaska plans to grow the number of language speakers by developing a program that focuses on teaching children its native tongue called Yaakwdaat Lingít Haa Yatx'i Jeeyís, or "For Our Yakutat Tlingit Children."
The tribe hopes to increase resources for its future Lingít language immersion activities and build stronger speaking skills for its community and families as a result of receiving funding from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
Community members in the Yakutat Tlingit project aim to accomplish the following with this language restoration program:
• Strengthen the Tlingít language mentor program.
• Develop curriculum for future language immersion activities for children from two to seven years old.
• Create a Lingít language smart phone application.
• Offer a three-credit Alaska Native Languages course through a partnership with the University of Alaska, Southeast.
• Host weekly community language sessions.
This year’s language preservation grants for Alaska-based projects totals just over $1.1 million in first-year funding for four Native American language projects. Other grants are being awarded to the Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the Native Village of Kotzebue.
“Time is of the essence for many of these communities facing dwindling numbers of native speakers. We want to invest in preservation and revitalization while tribes and native communities still have access to these individuals who are fluent in their traditional languages,” said ANA Commissioner Lillian Sparks Robinson. - More...
Saturday PM - September 06, 2014
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Political Cartoon: Media Pushes Toward War
By DARYL CAGLE Cagle Cartoons
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
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 We Rise United to Meet the Challenge By Bill Walker - On November 8, 1955 Bob Bartlett addressed the Alaska Constitutional Convention in a speech titled, “Meeting the Challenge.” In asking the delegates to set aside their partisan concerns, he recognized the divergent interests and backgrounds that had assembled for the great task. Bartlett aptly stated: “Here, in this element of compromise, is the very essence of the democratic process.” Governor Wally Hickel later reflected, “During the early days of Alaska, it wasn’t them and us. It was all of us.” - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Covered bleacher area needed By Melissa O'Bryan- I enjoyed a lovely KayHi football game this past weekend with my children and several other fans from around town at our beautiful field at Fawn Mountain. I felt very fortunate as we got to enjoy a game as many people around the country usually do, with decent weather in the sun, dry and halfway warm. We had a soccer game that evening that was not as nice. By the time we got home at 8:30 all of us were drenched, dripping and more than a little cranky. Should we have been more prepared? Probably. Was I ready for the next game in the rain the following day with raingear and boots? Absolutely. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
New City Council Members Needed By Douglas Thompson - I thought I had had my own "Groundhog" day and it was April Fool's Day early when I read Marty West's comments from her seat in Ketchikan Council Chambers. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Barking, Hawking & Concession Stands in the Downtown By Susan Peters - The Downtown Steering Committee recently had a meeting of downtown businesses and interested people about the current condition of concession stands in doorways of businesses with employees hawking or barking to lure visitors and locals into their business by offering a special or handout. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Where's the Leadership? By Bill Walker - In the face of budget reductions impacting programs and staffing throughout the University of Alaska system, President Gamble is awarded a $320k retention bonus. University morale was already low before news of this extravagant bonus was announced. How can the staff and faculty not feel betrayed? - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Net Neutrality: Competition is the best way to keep an open playing field on the Internet By Forrest Dunbar - In 2010, Sen. Mark Begich made the case for why the federal government should invest in broadband Internet access for Alaskans. “It helps a student in Fairbanks learn about their government in Juneau, and it can save a patient in Kotzebue a flight to Seattle,” he argued. The Recovery Act that followed included a $100 million investment in broadband for our state, offering high-speed access to thousands of Alaskans for the first time. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Be a voice for individual freedom By Jim McDermott - As an Alaskan Libertarian & Independent thinker I believe that it takes courage for us to be a voice for individual freedom. Yes beautiful people, our Libertarian & Independent walk for personal liberty represents the majority of our AK citizens desire for peace through ending of perpetual wars, and enhancing economic prosperity via entrepreneurships and intrapreneurs. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Spraying herbicides on Prince of Wales By Jan Storbakken - I have been on Prince of Wales for 8 years. I came here for the beauty and natural land. I certainly can understand budget cuts and would guess they are just selling this idea to save some money. A fellow resident mentioned that about 6 years ago they attempted to do aerial spraying to remove Alders!!!! Anyone that knows the cycle of trees understands, alders start the growth of the evergreens. My point is; before we buy 50 gallon drums of chemicals with taxpayer money by government officials that are paid by taxpayer dollars we HAVE NO SAY IN THE MATTER. They say; that last year they, DOT, choose to discontinue public comment. Have we become a dictatorship? - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Proposed Herbicide Chemical Spraying By Eugene Natkong - I am submitting a letter to address the issue of the Herbicide Chemical Spraying proposed on the Prince of Wales Island by State of Alaska Department of Transportation. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Intent to spray herbicides By Bob Claus - The State of Alaska DOT recently published a notice of intent to spray herbicides along the Thorne Bay Road. There is no public hearing and no opportunity for the public or communities of Prince of Wales Island to weigh in on the issue. This spraying could happen as soon as September. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Marijuana debate needs facts not propaganda By Kalie Klaysmat - In past weeks marijuana legalization proponents have blithely told the public that while Alaska already has the highest use of marijuana in the country there “is no problem” on the roads because of it. We call that whistling in the graveyard. First, the law enforcement community believes that the 50 lives lost and the hundreds of people injured in motor vehicle crashes during 2013 in Alaska are too many, and we think the friends and families of those killed and maimed would agree. Secondly, while the proponents’ statements are presented as if they are fact, the truth is they are generally unsupported opinion not challenged by the press. Toxicology (testing of blood) is necessary to determine if marijuana impairment is a factor in a crash. Since toxicology is not universally reported on crash victims in Alaska, it is impossible to know what percentage of current Alaskan crashes are marijuana related, but a study (cited below) of severely injured drivers admitted to a major trauma center in Maryland showed more than 1 in 4 to be under the influence of marijuana. It is wishful thinking to say that marijuana is not currently causing problems on Alaska highways. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Small Businesses By Dan Ortiz - Small businesses across the community of Ketchikan, the Southeast Region, the State of Alaska and the United States as a whole are the lifeblood of our free enterprise based economic system. Government’s role in the economy should be to facilitate business activity by supporting infrastructure, particularly in the areas of energy and transportation. I read with interest two articles in the Ketchikan Daily News, August 27th edition that are excellent illustrations of my point. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Flat Tax By Thomas Greninger I strongly support the idea of a national flat tax (national sales tax) this way every one, without exception, would pay their fair share of tax. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
The FairTax’s Propaganda Hides its True Implications By Stephen C. Eldridge - Recently, SitNews published a long letter from AFFT Vice President, Phillip L. Hinson. While he may be well meaning and acting in good faith, that does not at all assure that in his analyses and conclusions are wise – they are very UNwise. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Restoring our Constitution to our Founders' intents By Art Bedford - Our federal government wants us to believe that their purpose is to provide for our needs. They do this because it serves their purpose - the aggregation of federal power. Over the years, the federal government has amassed overwhelming power that is clearly outside of the boundaries that the Framers intended when they wrote the Constitution. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
Exposing the IRS By Wiley Brooks - For near 15 of years I have devoted thousands of hours promoting the FairTax® as a fair and equitable way for ALL Americans to share in financing the needs of our government. During those 15 years I have observed the Income Tax System and its collective arm, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) increasingly become more burdensome, unjust, authoritarian, intrusive, and abusive toward good patriotic Americans. I believe our persistence may soon gain results. A new movie production will bring a swell of public demand that the Congress end a 100 year old experiment gone badly. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 03, 2014
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