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SitNews - Stories In The News - Ketchikan, Alaska
Friday
October 04, 2013

Front Page Photograph By CARL THOMPSON

F/V Orca Song
The government may be shut down, but Americans are always at work. One of several fishing vessels passing through the Clover Pass area Wednesday.
Front Page Photograph By CARL THOMPSON ©2013
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)

 

Ketchikan: F/V Arctic Prowler to be Christened Oct. 5 in Ketchikan - Alaska Longline, LLC, and Alaska Ship & Drydock (ASD) will christen the largest commercial fishing vessel to be built in Alaska, The F/V Arctic Prowler on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013. - Read this reminder news article...

Ketchikan: Ketchikan Regular Election, October 01, 2013: Unofficial Election Results (Canvas Board)

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Ketchikan: Ward Lake Barrier Removed
Before Peaceful Protest
Begins By MARY KAUFFMAN - When hardworking and good people of Ketchikan learned that their popular Ward Lake recreational area had been closed due to the government shutdown created by our leaders in Washington, D.C., a peaceful protest was organized to reopen the area to the public.

Judy Hendricks holds a sign reading: "When injustice becomes
Law, Resistance becomes Duty...
Photograph by Jim Lewis ©2013

One of the organizers, Jim Lewis of Ketchikan, said this idea started when he heard about a barricade that was put up Tuesday blocking access to Ward Lake area. Lewis said a conversation started on Facebook about the closure and it was mentioned that some people should get together. A time to meet at Ward Lake for a peaceful protest was posted by Lewis on his Facebook page on Tuesday asking people to share the information about the closure and to share the information about the peaceful protest.

Lewis said co-organizer Kelly Spencer created an event page on Facebook encouraging folks to participate in a peaceful gathering Wednesday afternoon at Ward Lake. Lewis said he stressed no destruction, altering or moving of Federal property would be happening and that the gathering was only going to be peaceful. The local U.S. Government employees were only doing their jobs, said Lewis.

Lewis said the barricade that was put up on Tuesday, October 1, was removed before the peaceful protest was scheduled to begin Wednesday afternoon. Lewis said he observed a Forest Service Officer and a plain clothes person loading up the the barricade into the officer's truck Wednesday at around 1:00 pm thus reopening the area. - More...
Friday PM - October 04, 2013

Alaska: Governor Demands Federal Lands Open for Alaskans – In response to reports of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) restricting Alaskans’ access to federal lands and waters, Governor Parnell today called and spoke with Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell to defend Alaskans’ lawful access rights.

Under federal law, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), federal lands and waters are to be open and accessible without fees or permits.

“Whether it’s for hunting, fishing, or subsistence, Alaskans’ access opportunities cannot lawfully be curtailed due to a federal government shutdown,” Governor Parnell said. “We will fight to ensure our people have rightful access to federal lands during the shutdown.” - More...
Friday - October 04, 2013

Fish Factor: Bristol Bay red king crab season set to open October 15 By LAINE WELCH - Kodiak’s waterfront is bedecked with hundreds of “7 by’s” as boats stack their pots and gear up for the big crab fisheries in the Bering Sea.

The Bristol Bay red king crab season is set to open on October 15, with a harvest of 8.6 million pounds, similar to last year. A reopened Tanner crab fishery will produce a three million pound catch; the numbers for Bering Sea snow crab, Alaska’s largest crab fishery, will be out next week.

The fisheries are set to open on schedule, said Heather Fitch, regional manager for ADF&G at Dutch Harbor.  However, due to the government shutdown, the season could be stalled because crabbers won’t know how much each boat can catch. The Bering Sea crab fisheries operate under a catch share system and the federal number crunchers who compute who gets what are off the job.

Nearly 500 eligible vessels and companies have applied for 2013/2014 crab quota, said market expert John Sackton. Furthermore, the crab fishery depends on a share matching system between the harvesters and processors.  That cannot be determined until the exact amounts of quota for each shareholder is determined by NOAA Fisheries. - More...
Friday PM - October 04, 2013


Alaska Science: Wildfire hits close to home for scientist By NED ROZELL - While pounding nails on a roof extension for his shed this summer, Scott Rupp heard a roar that almost scared him off the roof. Three planes with bellies full of fire retardant swooped low, then banked over the mountain behind his home.

Wildfire hits close to home for scientist

The Stuart Creek wildfire plume as seen from Scott
Rupp’s yard on a midsummer day.
Photo by Scott Rupp

“I looked up and saw this big smoke cloud,” said the part-time farmer and leader of an organization devoted to studying climate change. “That was my first sense that this was something that was going to personally affect me.”

“This” was one of the largest wildfires in Alaska during the hot summer of 2013. It came close enough to Rupp’s homestead that he felt smoky heat on his face, a sensation that will now be on his mind every time he tweaks a computer model that simulates future fire scenarios in Alaska.

Rupp, 46, leads two lives in his home of interior Alaska. By day, he heads the Scenarios Network for Alaska & Arctic Planning, a group of about 20 scientists and staff who try to predict the future of Alaska climate so people can prepare. After work, he drives 30 miles to his 320-acre parcel off Chena Hot Springs Road. There, he hugs his wife and two daughters, along with a few dozen dogs, “too many” goats, chickens, and, soon, two 500-pound hogs.

He wants to make Flat Mountain Farm a place that sustains itself and other Alaskans. He’d prefer to spend most of his time there, but he needs money for goat feed. And he’s such a smart guy that others at the University of Alaska Fairbanks chose the former forestry professor to lead SNAP.

Part of his job is to decide which high-power computer models best simulate Alaska and predict what it will be like in 5, 10 and 100 years. A large component of those models is the occurrence of wildfires, a phenomenon that has fascinated him since his boyhood in Pennsylvania.
- More...
Friday PM - October 04, 2013


Money Matters: OBAMACARE IN PLAIN ENGLISH By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® & Nancy Tietje, RHU-REBC - Soon, Americans will have to figure out if and how our new national health care law, known as “Obamacare”, will change their lives. This article is the first attempt to explain this new law, in plain language, and direct the reader to whatever he or she will need to do, if anything.

Beginning on October 1, 2013, you will be able to choose one of four medical insurance plans, if you do not already have a plan at work. You are exempt from this law if you have Medicare,  Medicaid, Tri-Care, VA care or a plan at work. If you are not exempt you will be required to purchase your own individual plan.

The new law sets up an exchange called “a health care marketplace” where you can select and purchase the medical plan you prefer. The marketplace is a system that provides subsidies to people who need them in order to pay the premiums on their medical insurance. The idea is to provide a way for everyone to have coverage and prevent people from being financially ruined because of a major medical expense. Even young, healthy people can run up huge medical bills from an accident or unexpected illness. National health care is intended to prevent that financial ruin by providing affordable, basic medical insurance for everyone.

People who have coverage through Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare or the Veterans Administration do not qualify for subsidy, and some people who have coverage at work do not either. It depends on the plan provided by your work, or your family income, whether you qualify or not.

If you have medical insurance at work, your employer is required to have sent you a notice by now, called Notice of Coverage, which tells you whether or not it provides you with “minimum value coverage” and “affordable coverage”. If it does both of these, a box will be checked on the Notice of Coverag, saying so. This means that you/your family do not qualify for subsidy in the new health care exchange.

If however, the box is blank, you do qualify for subsidy and need to apply for it. You can do that at www.healthcare.gov. You must be a legal citizen or legal resident of the US and not be incarcerated at the time you apply.

The question most people have is: how much will this medical insurance coverage cost me and do I qualify for a subsidy on any of that cost? The answer will depend on which plan you choose. - More...
Friday - October 04, 2013

      

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letter ‘Rent to own’ lease changes By James Llanos, Sr. - Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority Juneau is trying to bully 13 tenant families of the housing at the top of Jackson Street into signing a new lease, giving up their rights under the old lease that T & H  deny happened or families had. Originally ‘rent to own’ language leases that people are being asked to give up their rights under the original lease or be evicted! - More...
Monday - September 30, 2013

letter Vote Yes for Ketchikan Medical Center By Tom LeCompte - I feel we really need this upgrade to the Peace Health Medical Center. My grandfather was a physician and surgeon in the Seattle area from the 30's to the 60's, and if he visited The Peace Health Medical Center, the parts he would most recognize would be the operating rooms. - More...
Monday - September 30, 2013

letter Trevor Shaw for School Board By Ginny Clay - I would like to recommend Trevor Shaw for School Board. I have known Trevor for a long time, he is one of my former Cub Scouts. Trevor has always shown a curiosity for knowledge. He has an inquiring mind. Over the years I have paid attention to what activities and interests he has had in his life. And that is why on an evening in late August when he sent me a Facebook message about something he wanted to share with me, I was pretty sure I already knew! - More...
Monday - September 30, 2012

letter No on Prop # 1: KMC Construction Bond By Douglas J. Thompson - I am wondering how many citizens and hospital owners here in Ketchikan are aware that Peace Health regards them as second class patients in their own hospital?  I am referring to the policy that cruise ship passengers have preference over locals in emergency room treatment.  If you as a local go to the emergency room you will wait until all cruise ship passengers are seen before you will be attended to.  This means that you who are paying for the facility are neglected while Peace Health taps the money of the cruise passengers. - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter In Favor of Prop #1, KMC Extension By Katie Nelson - I am totally in favor of the hospital  extension.  Through the years additions were made on the hospital and many requests were made for additions.  We are the main hospital in SE Alaska and now in need of an up to date Surgical Unit.  We currently have ONE surgical unit. - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013 

letter An open letter and fact sheet to address negative and inaccurate statements about the MSC program by ASMI, Alaska elected officials and trade journal reporting By Kerry Coughlin - For many years, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) worked closely and collaboratively with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) to support its charter to market Alaska seafood in global markets.  With demand for credible, independent third-party scientific confirmation of sustainability by many market buyers, MSC certification has served as a benefit for Alaskan and other fisheries in marketing to these buyers.  We are proud of our relationship with the Alaskan fishing industry and proud to help bring fishermen, industry members, government fishery managers and state leaders recognition for their demonstrated commitment to sustainable fishing. - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter Cruise with a Mission Port Cancelation in Ketchikan By Richard A. Parke - As you may be aware, Cruise with a Mission, a ministry of the Center for Youth Evangelism in Berrien Springs, Michigan, was aboard the m/s Oosterdam (a Holland America Line ship) the week of September 15-21. Our itinerary was supposed to take us through Ketchikan on September 20. Unfortunately, due to poor weather conditions we were unable to make the stop at Ketchikan's port. We were saddened by the news that we would no longer be able to visit your community, as we had no control over our schedule onboard and had made arrangements to conduct service projects in the community during our short time there. - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter Link Correction RE: The Myth Of Intact Watersheds By Heather Hardcastle - Mr. Muench’s contention in his 9/11/13 letter that intact watersheds are not essential to our salmon resources here in Southeast Alaska is based on dubious assumptions and flies in the face of considerable science. - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter RE: Open Letter: Will Murkowski stand strong? By Ken Bylund - The Affordable Health Care Act has one basic flaw that isn't getting much attention; security at the level of NSA/IRS down to those thousands of Obamacare tax advisors hired to ensure businesses understand and comply with the thousands of pages encompassing each state. - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter FairTax By Beverly Martin - When family, friends and neighbors are signing up for food stamps and unemployment or your kids or grandchildren can't find a meaningful job after college, it's hard to swallow government claims about the economy improving. There's a reason for why it's hard to believe things are getting better. For the middle class and poor the economy is not improving. After adjusting for inflation, today's median income for family households is the same as in 1980. Since the 1970's, the median income for men working full time has remained stagnant. Last year 1.7 million Americans used government help to stay above the poverty level. (New York Times Lowrey 9/17/13). - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter Fairtax letter in SitNews By Mark Curran - If permissible, I'd like to respond to the letter about Fairtax, because as one of the earliest supporters of Fairtax, I know how wonderful it can sound. - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter RE: Federal Tax Reform By Stephen C Eldridge - The Fair Tax is a Fraud we need a 10% Tithe! - More...
Thursday PM - September 26, 2013

letter Vote yes KMC! By Bess Clark - As a longtime resident of this community, I want to express my support for our local hospital, Ketchikan Medical Center. Over the years, I have had first-hand experience with the doctors, nurses and staff at KMC from routine care in the medical clinics to various surgeries. My family members have always received outstanding medical and surgical care from excellent caregivers. I have always been so thankful to be able to receive high-quality, attentive health care right here in Ketchikan. It's my experience that it is always best to receive care from those who know you best, where you can be supported by your friends and family during your recovery process. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter KMC Prop 1 - Vote NO! By Chris Barry - If we are being taxed to pay for a non-profit, and paying everytime we use its services, why are we needing to pay for a remodel? As far as I hear, 'they say' the tax already covers it and no additional taxes are required. Gee, where have I heard that before.... Every year, and throughout the year they brag about their stellar facilities and services. State-of-the-art this and that. Now all of a sudden we will all die if we don't vote yes on more debt! - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter Important Vote By Rodney Dial - In a few days we will be asked to elect representatives to both the City Council and Borough Assembly.  This is a critical vote for the community.  For those of you who have been following local government proceedings over the last few years you are aware of the following: - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter State must defend due process rights of all Alaskans By Attorney General Michael Geraghty - In 1965, Ernesto Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping and raping a young girl. Miranda’s attorneys challenged his arrest and the police interrogation that led to his confession. The U.S. Supreme Court held that because the police failed to tell Miranda about his basic constitutional rights when they arrested him, they violated his “due process” rights. That landmark case established what we now know as our Miranda rights, the basic constitutional protections that all of us (not just Miranda) expect as United States citizens. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter Federal Tax Code Failures By Fred Walker - Federal Government intervention has destroyed or driven many U.S. Based businesses and their related jobs to other Countries. The U.S. Congress has lost control of the IRS. The Constitution means nothing to many in the U.S. House and Senate. No Constitutionally required Federal Budget has been passed in years! Vote buying by those with the money to influence elections for personal gain and further prostitution of Ou rRepresentatives and Senators is rampant! The perversion of Federal Tax Code has destroyed the idea of Citizen representation and "equal" taxation originally instituted by the U.S. Constitution. Most of the current Congress continues to support an IRS strangle hold on every U.S. Citizen's throat! - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter RE: Library Funding By Matt Olsen - I appreciate Assembly Member Moran's letter. While my recollection of the Assembly's direction to Borough Manager Bockhorst was through what I read in the news, my information on the Library project comes from my intimate knowledge of the process. I stand by my comments on the night of September 5th. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter FUNDING KMC CONSTRUCTION By Herb Small - I AGREE WITH ED PLUTE. AS OF 2012, THERE WAS A POPULATION IN THE CITY LIMITS OF KETCHIKAN OF 8,119. IF YOU DIVIDE THAT INTO $43,000,000.00, EACH PERSON WOULD BE SIGNING A NOTE FOR $5,296.22 AS THEIR PART IF THIS DOESN'T GET PAID BY TAXES WHILE A SO CALLED NON-PROFIT HOSPITAL MAKES LOADS OF MONEY FOR A RENT OF, WHAT I'VE HEARD, ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter RE: Subject of defunding ObamaCare By Paul Jarvi - Thank you Mr. Johnson for looking at what happens every day in our United States. Billie Holiday said it best when she sang "God bless the child that has his own." - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter RE: Can we really afford to spend this much money on a hospital? By Mike Wisnewski - Regarding Mr. Ed Plute's letter about the hospital funding vote, where did he get the information that the PeaceHealth Hospital made a profit of $1.64 billion last year? - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter 9-11 By Arick Mattson - My name is Arick Mattson from Boy Scout Troop 22. Do you remember what it was like at the attacks on the Twin Towers? How old were you on 9/11/01? Where were you on September 11th? What was your reaction then? - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter Open Letter: Will Murkowski stand strong? By A. M. Johnson - The following quote from a conservative site is submitted to you as a piece that reflect many of the positions I hold, several close acquaintance agree with and through those, many more. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

letter RE: Protect & Serve By Ruth Peterson - I have no experience on the subject of a criminal case. I am family member who is concerned about the safety of my family living in Ketchikan. I would be hiring an attorney and private investigator on this case. - More...
Wednesday PM - September 25, 2013

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