Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

Alaska: Chinese fishing boats suspected of high-seas driftnet fishing intercepted -  International fisheries law enforcement operations resulted in the interception of two Chinese fishing boats suspected of high-seas driftnet fishing in the North Pacific Ocean.

High seas driftnets are banned by a UN General Assembly Resolution; these fishing nets are over a mile and a half in length, and they indiscriminately catch massive amounts of fish and other marine life by means of suspension in open waters. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

Alaska: Governor Releases Draft ACES Bill - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Monday released to members of the Legislature the draft bill that would replace the current Petroleum Profits Tax with a new production tax - Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share, or ACES.

This release, 17 days before the beginning of the legislative special session, will allow additional time for the public and members of the Legislature to review the bill prior to the start of the special session. The final bill will be introduced in the state House and Senate on October 18, the first day of the special session. During the next two weeks, the Administration plans to hold town hall meetings to explain the plan and work with the Legislature on committee hearings. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

Southeast: IFA May Reduce Summer '08 Sailings - Meeting Friday, the Inter-Island Ferry Authority board of directors considered continuing the current fall, winter and spring daily schedule on the Hollis-Ketchikan route, through the summer of 2008.

This past summer two daily round-trips operated between May 25th and September 3rd. Vehicle traffic rarely would have filled one daily round trip during this period and passengers would not have exceeded capacity with one round trip, according to IFA general manager Bruce Jones. The board is considering one daily round trip to serve the needs of the traveling public, and to reduce operating costs, said Jones. Providing people traveling with vehicles make advance reservations, we will have adequate car deck capacity to accommodate the need, he said. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

Fish Factor: Mussels are first line of defense for detecting water toxins By LAINE WELCH - Canaries are credited with alerting coal miners when their air is becoming unsafe. Can you guess what sea creatures provide the same service with our nation's waters?

Mussels provide the first line of defense for detecting toxins in our nation's fresh and salt waters. Since 1986 the abundant bivalves have been at the heart of the Mussel Watch Project , the longest running water monitoring program in the U.S. The Watch monitors chemical and biological contaminants in water and sediment at nearly 300 coastal sites across the U.S. ­ including Prince William Sound and Kachemak Bay near Homer.

Mussels are the fastest filter feeders of all bivalves, and in the process, they pick up whatever toxic material gets in the water.

"Sometimes it's very difficult to try and find very low concentrations of toxics in the water supply. Measuring water requires incredible precision and expense. So if you want to find something in the water, sampling mussels is an extremely good way to do it," said Ray RaLonde, a Sea Grant aquaculture specialist.

Toxicologists have found that mussels are particularly sensitive to copper, ammonia and several pesticides, which can wash into waters from surrounding land. In Alaska, mussels are an important monitoring tool for deadly PSP (Paralytic Shellfish Poison) toxins and RaLonde hopes to expand Mussel Watch sites throughout the state..

Amazingly, the blue bivalves also have been used for toxic clean ups.

"If there's an underwater dump of some sort, you can deposit mussels down there and they will pull those toxicants out of the system. Then you just dispose of the mussels and you have a clean up program," RaLonde said.

There are lots of mussels in Alaska's fresh and salt water systems, but growing them commercially has posed some problems. In some areas the mussels tend to turn filtered silt into tiny hidden pearls that to diners, taste like a mouthful of sand. And healthy batches regularly become stressed by disease and other natural factors.

"For two years it's a healthy mussel bed, and all of a sudden it's gone -- just at the time when they are market size," RaLonde said. In aquaculture, mussels are grown on roaps suspended from rafts and someday they will provide lucrative crops for Alaska growers.

Mussel dredge fisheries still occur in New England, but most come from farms on both coasts. The nation's top producer is Washington state where mussels are valued at $35 million annually. Farmers typically get $2-$2.50 a pound for their mussels, and market watchers say the supply does not even come close to meeting the enormous demand. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

YO-YO Philosophy By Meagan Foster - You're On Your Own, kids, elders, and working Alaskans. Reading Dan Fagan's column (or as much as I could stand) this Sunday reminded me of a Mike Doogan column at the end of this year's legislative session about the "right wing's" new "You're On Your Own" agenda. As a Legislative staff member, I repeatedly heard certain Legislators tell people in need (of health care, job training, education, or community revenue sharing) "you are on your own." However, when I heard some of these same people bragging about the size of the capital budget they secured for their district I was appalled. We live in a state where some key legislators are anxious to allow BP to write off their costs to replace corroded pipe, but that refuse to provide healthcare to children of working parents, because that would create a culture of dependence. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

Jewelry store initiative By Terry Pyles - I loved the opinion by Ken Bylund! It mirrors my own and I'm partial to his Dockside Gallery statement. - More...
Wednesday AM - October 03, 2007

"ENDANGERED HERRING"? Why Now, And Why Only Lynn Canal? By Andy Rauwolf, John Harrington, Snapper Carson - We find it quite interesting that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has recently considered listing the Lynn Canal herring stocks as either threatened or endangered. NMFS has maintained a laboratory in Juneau for about 3/4 of a century and has conducted extensive research on the once huge Lynn Canal herring stock as well as many other herring populations throughout S.E. Alaska. In 1982, after 5 years of intense herring sac roe fishing, then Governor Sheffield was persuaded to override an order by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) for an emergency closure of the Lynn Canal herring fishery and open the fishery. This last thrust depleted the herring stocks to a level which could no longer sustain the population of whales, sea lions, and salmon that had thrived on it, causing its collapse. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

Prop. #1 Tax consequences By Chris Parks - Thank you Mr. Cragun for inquiring about the facts of the tax consequences of this initiative, and desiring to be a more informed voter! - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

School Funding - In response to Mr. Ortiz letter: Last year I asked the school board to request additional funding to the cap and they said that they were satisfied. This year, the state put in place funding that allowed us to fund within 300,000 of EVERY item on the school board's program based budget (well above the current year's funding) with only a small increase in property taxes. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

THE INITIATIVE: INTIMIDATION VS. COMPROMISE by Ken Bylund - The rhetoric of the Chamber of Commerce/City/Borough would be amusing if it weren't so quarrelsome; none of the "No on Jewelry Store Initiative" articles has offered any compromise... interesting? These bellicose claims against the JSI range from "shutting down Jewelry Stores" [implying they will be bull-dozed off the dock]... to open intimidation, much spent on raising property taxes on home owners. This argument is disagreeably dishonest and threatening, especially since the COC owns and operates our government. The attraction to this initiative for citizens of Ketchikan [to the JSI] have been overlooked, ignored by an arrogant panic of them who have direct benefit or support; they see potential for leveling off of self-interested profit margins. Guess what? Saturation of Jewelry stores will accomplish that anyway, and looks like we are probably reaching that level. Existing [grand-fathered] jewelry businesses will continue to require facelifts, refurbishment and they [Jewelry Store Operators] will benefit from stabilizing competition. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

Jewelry Store Initiative By Glen Thompson - I signed no petitions.
- More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Today's Forecast Satellite Today's Weather Images Marine Forecasts Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map CLASSIFIEDS Publish ad Please select the proper category before posting. CLASSIFIEDS' CATEGORIES Announcements and       Help Wanted For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services Publish your ad Front Page Archives October 2007 S M T W T F S   01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31       September 2007 S M T W T F S             01 02 03 04 05 06 07  08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22  23 24 25 26 27 28 29  30             More Front Page Archives

Proposition One By Kyleen Luhrs, Brittany Auger, and Caitlyn Lewis - As young residents of Ketchikan, we have a concern for the future of our community and the future of our economy. After researching all perspectives we came to a unanimous decision to show our opposition to proposition one. Our main concern lies in the nature of the proposition itself. Its purpose is to reduce the number of jewelry stores because there are "just too many of them", which would supposedly open the downtown area for other types of business. Unfortunately, there is no evidence or reasoning that we could depend on to ensure this will even happen. There have been multiple vacancies in the downtown area for several years, and the number of jewelry stores is already decreasing, without additional government regulation. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

My Support For Vickrey By Allan Manuel - Hello everyone who's reading this! My name is Allan Manuel and I am a senior at Ketchikan High School this year. I am here to express my support for Gregory Vickrey and his campaign to run for Borough Assembly. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

A new course for the borough assembly By Michael Spence - It has been a decade since the pulp mill closed. In those ten years several HUNDREDS of millions of dollars have flowed through the community in the form of economic relief, cleanup, and infrastructure development (DOT) funds. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

JUST SEND YOUR LAWYER IN & TELL EM WHAT YOU WANT By Charles Edwardson - The members of the borough assembly that did not get on the agenda their opposition of Ballot Measure 1 the jewelry store initiative, I would like to say to you" thank goodness for the election process." - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

Covered Sports Arena . . . Dream on. By Chris Barry - Do people honestly believe the whole 'if you build it they will come' thing? Number one, yes it would be nice to have a place to use for sports year round. Number two, who are we gonna play? Just because we have a place for our athletes to practice year-round, doesn't mean that everyone elses' athletes can also practice year round - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

Hovercraft to Airport For Passengers By Forrest Mackie - I would like to suggest the idea of looking into the possibilities of a large "Hovercraft" to go back and forth for passengers and cars, keep the ferry going for trucks. They could let people off right at the terminal almost. Just a thought. - More...
Monday PM - October 01, 2007

More Letters/Viewpoints
Webmail your letter or
Email Your Letter To: editor@sitnews.us

Mike Painter 1,280
Glen Thompson 1,160
Derek Flom 655
Carol Cairnes 602
Gregory Vickrey 600

Dick Coose 526*
Sam Bergeron 516*
Tom Coyne 504*
Michael McNally 384
George Tipton 335
Robert Brown 134

Ginny Clay 1,640
Mike Fitzgerald 1,423
Dave Lieben 977

No 1,568
Yes 915

*Questioned & Absentee Ballots to be counted by Canvasing Board Wednesday at 9:00 am in the City Council Chambers...
522 absentee and questioned ballots to be counted.

Borough Clerk's Unofficial Election Results: Click Here