Regular Election October 02, 2018 Absentee in-person voting began on Sept. 17, 2018. Ketchikan City Council Candidates 3-Year Term, 2 Seats to Fill Janalee L. Gage Filed 08/01/18 Candidate's Statement 09/03/18 Sam Bergeron Filed 08/23/18 Candidate's Statement 09/13/18 Dragon London Filed 08/24/18 Candidate's Statement 09/20/18 Spencer Strassburg Filed 08/27/18 Candidate's Statement 09/23/18 Ketchikan City Mayor 3-Year Term, 1 Seat to Fill Unchallenged Robert (Bob) Sivertsen Filed 08/01/18 Ketchikan Assembly Candidates 3-Year Term, 2 Seats to Fill Watch the Chamber's Borough Assembly Forum 09/05/18 YouTube Courtesy KPU TV Dan Bockhorst Filed 08/01/18 Candidate's Statement 09/11/18 Austin Otos Filed 08/02/18 Candidate's Statement 09/09/18 Danielle "Dani" Pratt Filed 08/22/18 Candidate's Statement 09/19/18   Sven Westergard Filed 08/24/18 James Montgomery Filed 08/24/18 Candidate's Statement 09/23/18 Felix Wong Filed 08/27/18 Candidate's Statement 09/17/18 Ketchikan School Board 3-Year Term, 3 Seats to Fill Matt Eisenhower Filed 08/10/18 Candidate's Statement 09/13/18 Sonya Skan Filed 08/13/18 Candidate's Statement 09/11/18 Rachel Breithaupt Filed 08/17/18 Candidate's Statement 09/07/18 Bridget Mattson Filed 08/20/18 Candidate's Statement 09/20/18 Lana Boler Filed 08/21/18 Candidate's Statement 09/21/18

Alaska: Formal Apology Presented to Alaska Native Peoples by Federal & State Agencies; Agencies acknowledged harmful impacts of past bird harvest prohibitions - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) formally issued an apology to Alaska Native peoples for the unintended consequences of implementation of migratory bird harvest prohibitions. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game formally apologized to Alaska Native peoples Thursday, September 13, 2018. The apology recognized hardships Alaska Native families experienced from implementation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the 1960s and 70s.

"This moment ... can bring healing, and healing is what needs to happen for Natives throughout the State," said Gayla Hoseth, AMBCC Native Caucus Co-Chair and Bristol Bay Regional Advisory Committee Representative.

The Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council (AMBCC) was formed in 2000 and consists of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, and representatives of Alaska's Native population.

Council members honored many Alaska Native leaders who worked to change the Act during the ceremony. The apology was presented at the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council at their fall meeting by USFWS Regional Director Greg Siekaniec and Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten. 

In the apology letter to Indigenous Peoples of Alaska, Siekaniec and Cotten wrote, "On behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, please accept our sincere apology for any harm that past harvest regulations has caused to you and your families. Our predecessors’ regulations were shortsighted in that they caused long term and unnecessary pain. We ask for your forgiveness as we continue our journey for healing together. Learning from past mistakes, we look forward to continuing to work together with Alaska Native peoples for the conservation of the bird resources that are dear to all of us and to support traditional subsistence cultures and ways of life." - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Fish Factor: Are Offshore Fish Farms in Alaska's Future? By LAINE WELCH - Offshore fish farms could soon dot the sea scape along with those oil and gas platforms being proposed for U.S. waters by the Trump Administration.

The fish farms, which would be installed from three to 200 miles out, are being touted as a way to boost seafood production, provide jobs and reduce the nation’s $16 billion trade deficit due to America’s importing nearly 90 percent of its seafood favorites. 

The U.S. Commerce Department is holding meetings around the country through November to talk about its strategic plan for getting aquaculture off the ground. At a recent session in Juneau, NOAA Director Chris Oliver said that wild harvests simply can’t keep up with global demand.

“Aquaculture is going to be where the major increases in seafood production occur whether it happens in foreign countries or in U.S. waters,” Oliver said.

“Aquaculture would seem like an ideal industry for the country, since it has the second-largest exclusive enterprise zone in the world – meaning it has proprietary marine resource rights over an area totaling roughly 4.4 million square miles in three oceans, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico,” wrote Seafood Source. However, the U.S. is a bit player in the burgeoning global industry. 

In 2015, the U.S. produced just 0.4 percent (426,000 MT) of global aquaculture harvests, putting it in 18th place and trailing such countries as Ecuador, Malaysia, and North Korea. In contrast, the U.S. ranks No. 1 in the world in poultry and beefproduction.

The potential is not lost on America’s big food producers. 

A new trade group called Stronger America Through Seafood has emerged to promote the push to farm the seas. It’s backers include Cargill, Pacific Seafood, Red Lobster, High Liner Foods, Sysco and Seattle Fish Company. 

“There is no clear framework for allowing offshore aquaculture development, so while the rest of the world is growing and evolving and exploring the open ocean as an opportunity to farm our own fish, the U.S. continues with business as usual,” said spokesperson Margaret Henderson. “And as our population and our appetites increase, we become increasingly dependent on foreign production.”

The group has come out in support of  a bill pending in the U.S. Senate called Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act that would streamline the permitting process for offshore aquaculture projects.  The Act says it would create an Office of Marine Aquaculture within NOAA and provide a “one-stop shop” for federal approval of fish farm permits and “to the extent practicable,” avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts to the marine environment and wild fisheries.

During the Juneau session, Under Secretary of Commerce Timothy Gallaudet cited climate change in his pitch for the fish farms.

“Some of the changes in the environment are affecting fish stocks,” he said, “They are either moving or they’re not thriving and so aquaculture, done the right way and scientifically based, provides a means for employment of fishermen who are losing some of their gain through these changing conditions.”

 Sam Rabung, director of the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game’s aquaculture division, respectfully disagreed.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to fight pretty hard to maintain the state’s opt-out option,” Rabung said, “and maintain the ability to prohibit finfish farming off of Alaska.” - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Photo of the Month Ketchikan: Cruise Ship Schedule 2018(pdf) Courtesy Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska - claalaska.com Ketchikan: Public Meetings Ketchikan: Upcoming Events Historical Ketchikan June Allen Dave Kiffer Louise B. Harrington Ketchikan Weather Ketchikan's Forecast Weather History Sept. 2018 August: Precip Stats:  Actual Month Total: 2.16 in Average Month Total: 9.91 in Ketchikan's Historic Weather Nat Weather Service KTN Ketchikan Tides & Currents Sunrise - Sunset Ketchikan Search the News Ketchikan Alaska

Alaska: Landmark report on active faults and seismic hazards in Alaska released - Alaska experiences more earthquakes than any other state in the nation and is one of the most seismically active regions of the world. According to a recently released report on active faults & seismic hazards in Alaska, since the advent of instrumental monitoring of global seismicity, 11 percent of the world’s earthquakes have occurred in Alaska. During the last century two of the ten largest earthquakes in the world and nine of the ten largest earthquakes in the United States were in Alaska.

This newly released report by the Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys and Alaska Seismic Hazards Safety Commission summarizes the current state of knowledge of active faults throughout Alaska.

This is the first report of its kind for Alaska. It was spearheaded by the Alaska Seismic Hazards Safety Commission, which recognized the growing need for a comprehensive, one-stop information resource summarizing the known sources of seismic hazards in Alaska.

Alaska is the most seismically active region of the United States and large damaging earthquakes pose significant risks to the state’s infrastructure and inhabitants according to the report. Despite the hazards associated with high rates of tectonic activity, geologic information on the relative activity of young faults in Alaska is sparse.

“This report will provide guidance for future earthquake research in Alaska, serve as a resource for seismic hazard studies, and complement the Alaska Quaternary fault database,” said lead author Richard Koehler, earthquake science professor at the University of Nevada and former earthquake hazards manager for the division.

In Southeast Alaska, active seismic sources include the Fairweather–Queen Charlotte fault system, the Chatham Strait section of the Denali fault, the eastern end of the Transition fault, and other potentially active faults mapped in bedrock ( see graphic). The highly active right-lateral Fairweather–Queen Charlotte transform fault system marks the bound-ary between the Pacifc and North American plates and constitutes the locus of much of the region’s seismicity. Earthquakes are generally shallow crustal events along right-lateral strike-slip faults with more than 400 greater than or equal to 4.0 magnitude events and 20 strong earthquakes, greater than or equal to 6.0 magnitude, in the last 60 years (Alaska Earthquake Center, 2016).

According to the report, the Fairweather–Queen Charlotte fault in Southeast Alaska has generated several major destructive earthquakes in the last century including the 1949 Moment Magnitude 8.1 earthquake on shore of the Queen Charlotte Islands, the 1958 Lituya Bay earthquake Moment Magnitude 7.9 on the northern part of the system, and the 1972 Moment Magnitude 7.3 earthquake west of Sitka. The Lituya Bay earthquake triggered a massive landslide into Lituya Bay that generated a 1,772-foot-high wave and the 1972 earthquake was felt to distances of nearly 620 miles. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Alaska: State Report Analyzes Flu Data from 1918 Influenza Pandemic; Commemoration Activities Include Emergency Preparedness Activities - The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Section of Health Analytics and Vital Records released a new report this month on persons who died during the 1918 and 1919 influenza pandemic in Alaska. This report, done to mark the 100th anniversary of the pandemic, also known as the Spanish flu, is the first complete analysis of Alaska death certificates for pandemic flu data.

The first wave of the pandemic skipped Alaska, but the second wave devastated Alaskans after infected steamship passengers arrived in Nome on Oct. 20, 1918. From Nome, the virus spread rapidly across the Seward Peninsula and then throughout Alaska, killing large numbers of people and in some cases wiping out entire villages. According to the new DHSS report, over 80 percent of all pandemic deaths were Alaska Native people.

The death toll worldwide was estimated to be 50 million people, with about 675,000 of those deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s hard now to imagine the magnitude of the suffering caused by the pandemic flu to Alaskans in 1918 and 1919,” said Dr. Jay Butler, Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Division of Public Health. “This analysis pays tribute to this incredibly difficult time in Alaska’s history and reminds us that we need to be prepared for the next pandemic when it comes.”

This DHSS analysis also predicts, based on 2016 population data, how many people would die in Alaska if a similar pandemic were to occur today. If we had a flu season with the same rate of death as the epidemic wave in the late fall of 1918, the estimated number of deaths would be 11,970 Alaskans. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Alaska: Findings of Investigation of Alaska Psychiatric Institute Released - The Alaska Department of Law and Alaska Department of Health and Social Services have released the findings of the independent investigation into employee safety and workplace retaliation at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute. DHSS Commissioner Valerie Davidson requested the investigation in March after concerns of workplace safety at API were brought to her attention.

Under the supervision of Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth, Anchorage attorney Bill Evans conducted an independent investigation into whether safety, retaliation, or hostile work environment issues exist at API.

“No employee should feel unsafe when they go to work,” said Commissioner Davidson. “Thank you to Attorney General Lindemuth and Mr. Evans for looking into the issue of employee safety and the work environment at API. Most importantly, thank you to all the API employees who came forward with their concerns. Without you we could not make positive changes at API to protect our staff and our patients.”

Investigation Findings

While Evans did not find evidence of organized retaliation or a hostile work environment toward employees who voice concern about workplace safety, he did find that API presents an unsafe work environment for its staff.

“Through the course of my investigation, it became evident that multiple inter-related problems plague the operation of API,” said Evans. “These issues are contributing both directly and indirectly to the legitimate perception of an unsafe work environment.”

Problems with employee scheduling, use of on-call personnel, employee qualifications, and a cultural divide on the use of seclusion and restraints are some of the reasons Evans identified for API’s unsafe work environment.

While they do not meet a legal threshold, Evans also found that practices of favoritism by API’s nursing administration, poor relations with union representatives, and overall low employee morale left the impression of retaliation and a hostile work environment by staff. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Southeast Alaska: Sitka Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography; Defendant’s Child Pornography Collection Spanned Over 30 Years - U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Robert Edgar Farquer, 69, of Sitka, was sentenced on September 20th by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to serve eight years in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for possession of child pornography.   

According to court documents, Farquer became the subject of a federal investigation when, in May 2016, FBI agents obtained 46 files containing images of child pornography from an IP address, and again in June 2016, when an additional 169 images were downloaded from another IP address.  The investigation revealed that the IP addresses were associated with Farquer at his residence in Sitka. 

On July 12, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Farquer’s residence, where agents discovered a collection of child pornography materials that spanned decades stored throughout his apartment and filled the back of a small pickup truck.  During an interview, Farquer admitted to downloading child pornography files online, and that he had received child pornography materials as early as 1988 via the mail.  The agents seized hundreds of pieces of electronic media and discovered thousands of images of child pornography in other various media.  - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Southeast Alaska: Skagway Man Sentenced for Theft of Government Funds - U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that a Skagway man has been sentenced in federal court for theft of government funds.

Carey L. Dorn, 67, of Skagway, Alaska, was sentenced last Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to serve five years of probation, and was ordered to pay $78,811.68 in restitution to the United States Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).

According to court documents, from January 2011 through December 2013, Dorn received $78,811.68 in overpayments from RRB Employment Disability that he was not entitled to because he knowingly failed to file accurate reports of his employment and income earnings during this time period. 

In 2005, Dorn had become injured on the job with the U.S. Railroad and was allowed to take an early retirement in March 2007.  As part of the conditions of Dorn’s early retirement benefits, he was required to accurately report his employment and income to the RRB.  - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

TOM PURCELL: Spendthrift Idioms Define Congress - "Republicans like to talk about fiscal discipline, but when they have control of Congress they spend like drunken sailors!" 

"Ah, yes, you speak of the recent $150 billion spending bill that does some good things for veterans, but is loaded with goodies and pork - as though the Congressional Budget Office hasn't warned that our annual deficits will exceed $1 trillion in 2020 and will increase our debt by $12.4 trillion by 2028!"

"That's a lot of cabbage. That's why every idiom that ever described reckless spending applies to Congress. To borrow from Ben Franklin, Congress and our hard-earned tax dollars are soon parted!"

"That's regrettably true. Despite record economic growth and an increase in government revenue, the federal deficit through August was $224 billion more than it was last year at this time."

"Well, as they say in Congress, easy come, easy go!"

"What's worse: Congress isn't just spending our money carelessly, it's spending the money of millions of Americans who aren't born yet."

"You mean Congress is spending like there's no tomorrow?"

"Exactly. And tomorrow looks dire where debt is concerned. Since 2002, our politicians have increased the debt by nearly $15 trillion. We've been spending, on average, roughly $930 billion per year more than we take in in tax receipts. These debt increases cannot go on forever."

"You mean that at some point, Congress is going to run out of blank checks?"

"That's right. Massive borrowing provides more money for Congress to spend now, but, says the independent Congressional Research Service, it comes at the cost of higher taxes and diminished economic growth for future generations."

"I worry about my kids and my kids' kids, but I'll be long gone by the time my kids' kids' kids get stuck with the tab!"

"We're already stuck. According to J.P. Morgan Asset Management, personal household debt - mortgages, credit cards, car loans, etc. - averages about $126,000. Meanwhile, our federal debt, currently $21.5 trillion, will average $127,000 per household by the end of this year!" - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018