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Tuesday
October 02, 2018

Front Page Feature Photo By ADRIANNA SAAVEDRA

South Point Higgins Beach Sunset
Front Page Feature Photo By ADRIANNA SAAVEDRA ©2018

Regular Election
Unofficial Results
October 02, 2018

10/02/18
Unofficial Results (PDF)
Voter Turnout 24%

Votes still to be counted by the Canvass Board on Oct. 3:
275 Absentee Ballots
3 Special Needs Ballots
228 Questioned Ballots

Ketchikan City Council Candidates
3-Year Term,
2 Seats to Fill

10/02/18 Unofficial Results

	Janalee L. Gage 691
	Sam Bergeron 600
	Dragon London 298
	Spencer Strassburg 355

Ketchikan City Mayor
3-Year Term, 1 Seat to Fill
Unchallenged
10/02/18 Unofficial

Robert (Bob) Sivertsen

863

Ketchikan Assembly Candidates
3-Year Term,
2 Seats to Fill
10/02/18 Unofficial

	Dan Bockhorst 643
	Austin Otos 880
	Danielle "Dani" Pratt 230
	Sven Westergard 949
	James Montgomery 256
	Felix Wong 1,107

Ketchikan School Board
3-Year Term,
3 Seats to Fill
10/02/18 Unofficial

	Matt Eisenhower 1,237
	Sonya Skan 1,089
	Rachel Breithaupt 1,064
	Bridget Mattson 1,004
	Lana Boler 689

Ketchikan: Man Charged in Shooting; Bail Set at $200,000 - According to a press release issued by the Ketchikan Police Department today, approximately 3:45 AM Tuesday morning, the Ketchikan Police Department responded to the 300 block of Edmonds Street responding to a report that a male had been shot.

According to the press release, upon arriving on the Edmonds Street scene officers gave emergency medical treatment to a person they identified as the victim who had been shot in the arm. The injured male was then transported by ambulance to Peace Health Ketchikan Medical Center and later transported to Anchorage by Med Evac for emergency surgery.

The Ketchikan Police Department identified the suspect in the shooting as Jeffery K. Craig, age 53.

This morning at approximately 8:00 AM, Ketchikan Police Department Officers with assistance from the Alaska State Troopers executed a search warrant on a residence in the 12000 block of North Tongass Highway and took Craig into custody. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

Alaska: NATIONAL IPAWS TEST WEDNESDAY - The national test sending a Presidential Alert to broadcasters and nearly all cell phones in the United States will happen tomorrow. The Federal Emergency Management Agency in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission had originally scheduled the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) test for September 20th. The test moved to October 3rd to avoid confusion with the response efforts to Hurricane Florence.

At 10:18 a.m. AKDT on October 3rd, cell phones on participating wireless carriers will make a loud alert tone and receive a message that will read “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

Two minutes later at 10:20 a.m. AKDT television and radio stations will broadcast an Emergency Alert System test message. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

Alaska: U.S. DOL Awards Alaska $3.35 Million to Prepare Alaskans for Work in High-Growth Industries - The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $3.35 million dollars to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in Trade and Economic Transition Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs). This two-year funding will expand the capacity of dislocated worker training and employment programs that prepare Alaskans for occupations in the state’s fastest growing sectors: health care, construction, and maritime industries.

“It is critical that we invest in Alaskans who seek training to be first in line for these high-paying jobs on major projects, such as the Alaska LNG Gasline,” said Alaska Governor Bill Walker. “This funding will assist as we grow our own skilled workforce to fill essential occupations; from welders and pipefitters, operating engineers, to truck drivers, laborers, electricians and mechanics.”

Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) support state, tribal, and non-profit entities that implement innovative skills training and career services for people seeking reemployment as the economy and corresponding workforce needs change. Alaska’s aging workforce (PDF )will increase demand for qualified workers across all sectors, in addition to the growing number of jobs in health care, construction, and maritime industries. This funding will boost existing training and support services provided by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Job Center Network. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

Alaska: Walker Administration commits $12 million investment in tourism industry – Governor Bill Walker announced Monday plans to increase funding for the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) after years of substantial budget cuts. Due to the fiscal crisis, ATIA has been operating at a reduced level, forgoing the opportunity and revenue that comes from a robust investment in one of Alaska’s most important industries: every dollar spent on tourism promotion generates $58 of visitor spending, $21 in income for Alaskans, and $2.84 in state and local revenue.

Quoting the Governor's news release, re-investing in Alaska tourism marketing comes at a time when visitor interest is on the rise, and new international markets, especially in Asia, are growing quickly. Increasing funding for Alaska tourism means establishing representation in markets where we’ve had to pull back over the last four years (before the fiscal crisis, ATIA was funded at $16 million), and taking advantage of opportunities for Alaska to participate in the tourism boom.

The Opportunity Alaska: China Trade Mission earlier this year highlighted Alaska’s rising appeal to visitors from across the Pacific. Alaska’s traditional tourist season is the summer, but new visitor markets are equally interested in what Alaska has to offer in the winter, from skiing and snowboarding to hot springs and Northern Lights. Pan-pacific cargo flights continue to increase, and direct China-Alaska flights are on the horizon, growing opportunities for visitors. A portion of these funds will be used to make these direct flights a reality.

“With more than 80 percent of the deficit fixed, it’s time to start re-investing in Alaska and grow the economy,” Governor Walker said. “We need to let the world know that we are open for business.”

Tourism is the cornerstone for many small businesses in Alaska according to the news release. Restaurants, breweries, sightseeing, guiding, hotels, B&B’s, car rentals, gold panning operation in small towns and urban centers all benefit from tourism marketing to the rest of the United States and across the globe. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

Alaska: New Study Sheds Light on Mysterious Movements of Rarest Great Whale - The eastern North Pacific right whale is the rarest of great whales: after decades of legal and illegal whaling, 30 are thought to remain. They are seldom sighted, and little understood. No one knows where they go in the winter, or where they breed and calve--essential knowledge for their management and recovery.

A new NOAA Fisheries study sheds light on the mysterious lives of these Critically Endangered whales.

The eastern population of North Pacific right whales (NPRW) is known to live in the southeast Bering Sea. But a previous study found that the whales disappeared in winter from acoustic recordings made in the Bering Sea. Based on that winter silence, as well as evidence from old whaling records, migration patterns of other right whale populations, and sightings of one NPRW in both the Bering Sea and Hawaii, scientists suspected that the whales were migrating south for the winter.

Rarest Great Whale...
An eastern North Pacific right whale surfacing for air.
Photo courtesy NOAA

Photo of the Month

Ketchikan: Cruise Ship Schedule 2018(pdf)
Courtesy Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska - claalaska.com

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Actual Month Total: 2.16 in
Average Month Total: 9.91 in
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Alaska

Finding the Right Whale

To test their migration hypothesis, scientists analyzed acoustic recordings from 2009-2015 in Unimak Pass, the most plausible passage from the eastern Bering Sea south through the Aleutian Island chain. They listened to audio and visually scanned spectrogram data in search of characteristic NPRW “upcall” and “gunshot” calls.

“There was quite a lot of noise from vessel traffic, so it took time and focus to go through all the data for potentially faint NPRW calls. There were also a lot of calls from talkative humpback whales throughout the dataset, which meant we had to be very diligent going through the data to separate the two species,” says marine mammal biologist Dana Wright, who led the study.

What they did hear validated the migration hypothesis-- and raised major concerns.

“The first time we found NPRW calls was very exciting. Hearing calls during winter/spring in multiple years was even more exciting, because it supported the idea of a migration,” Wright says. “But pervasive vessel noise throughout the study highlights the potential for interactions between whales and vessels, from ship strikes to noise interfering with the whales’ ability to communicate.”

Traffic

A separate study estimated that 1,961 deep-draft vessels involved in international trade made 4,615 transits through Unimak Pass in 2012. Of these transits, the majority of vessels were cargo and container vessels. The study excluded fishing, military, ferry, tugs and barges, and smaller vessels. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

Alaska: First North American co-occurrence of Hadrosaur and Therizinosaur tracks found in Alaska - A new study published in Scientific Reports provides more evidence that Alaska was possibly the 'superhighway' for dinosaurs between Asia and western North America 65-70 million years ago.

An international team of paleontologists and other geoscientists has discovered the first North American co-occurrence of hadrosaur and therizinosaur tracks in the lower Cantwell Formation within Denali National Park, suggesting that an aspect of the continental ecosystem of central Asia was also present in this part of Alaska during the Late Cretaceous.

This comprehensive cross-disciplinary effort has resulted in a paper - entitled "An unusual association of hadrosaur and therizinosaur tracks within Late Cretaceous rocks of Denali National Park, Alaska" - published in Scientific Reports, an online open access scientific mega journal published by the Nature Publishing Group, covering all areas of the natural sciences.

Anthony R. Fiorillo, Ph.D., chief curator and vice president of research and collections at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas, is the lead author.

Fiorillo and a colleague published on a distinct single footprint in Denali National Park in 2012 that they determined to be made by a therizinosaur, an unusual predatory dinosaur thought to have become an herbivore. Therizinosaurs are best known from Asia. Upon his return in 2013 and 2014, they conducted a more detailed analysis of the area, and he and his colleagues unearthed dozens more tracks of therizinosaurs. What surprised Fiorillo and his team most was the co-occurrence of dozens of hadrosaurs, also known as duck-bill dinosaurs.

"Hadrosaurs are very common and found all over Denali National Park. Previously, they had not been found alongside therizinosaurs in Denali. In Mongolia, where therizinosaurs are best known - though no footprints have been found in association - skeletons of hadrosaurs and therizinosaurs have been found to co-occur from a single rock unit so this was a highly unusual find in Alaska, and it prompted my interest," said Fiorillo. "From our research, we've determined that this track association of therizinosaurs and hadrosaurs is currently the only one of its kind in North America."

An international team of paleontologists and geoscientists has discovered the first North American co-occurrence of hadrosaur and therizinosaur tracks within Denali National Park in Alaska.
Illustration by Masato Hattori ©2018

The plant-eating therizinosaurs are rare and unusual creatures in the fossil record. The strange-looking dinosaurs had long skinny necks, little teeth, a small beak for cropping plants, and big torsos accompanied by large hind feet and long arms with "hands like Freddy Krueger."

Though therizinosaurs are known from Asia and North America, the best and most diverse fossil record is from Asia - even up to the time of extinction - and therein is the connection. Fiorillo has long postulated that

Cretaceous Alaska could have been the thoroughfare for fauna between Western North America and Asia - two continents that shared each other's fauna and flora in the latest stages of the Cretaceous. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

Analysis: How is 'new NAFTA' different? A trade expert explains By AMANDA M. COUNTRYMAN - On Sept. 30, the U.S., Canada and Mexico reached a deal to scrap NAFTA and replace it with a new trade accord, narrowly meeting a self-imposed deadline for consensus.

Although U.S. President Donald Trump plans to sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 60 days, the new accord has a long road ahead as lawmakers in all three countries must still pass it before it goes into effect.

Still it is an astounding feat, considering Mexico and the U.S. were all but ready to go ahead with their own deal without Canada only a month ago, after a year of three-party negotiations. And Trump repeatedly said he was ready to scrap the deal entirely, which in my opinion would have been the worst outcome.

So what’s changed from the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement and why should you care?

The text of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is 1,809 pages long – about 100 more than NAFTA – and includes numerous tweaks from its predecessor, both big and small. I believe three are especially noteworthy.

Please pass the butter

Since 1994, the U.S. and Canada have dropped tariffs and other trade restrictions on most agricultural products, but there were a few exceptions, most notably dairy.

Dairy was a particularly problematic sticking point in the recent negotiations as the U.S. and Canada both have long histories of protectionist policies such as subsidies to dairy farmers, import quotas on milk and Canadian tariffs that range from 200 percent to 300 percent for exporting too much of a given product.

The new NAFTA begins to change that, representing a big win for both countries, especially the U.S. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

MONEY MATTERS COLUMN: HOW TO INVEST WHEN THE MARKET MAKES YOU NERVOUS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - The market is making some people nervous. Maybe it will crash, they say. Maybe the economy will turn down and go sour, they say. Maybe the bull market will end and we will be in a bear market, they say. Maybe the time to get out has come, they say. Maybe our planet will get whacked tomorrow by a giant asteroid that will destroy all life on earth, too. This kind of thinking is a waste of time and just fosters stress and anxiety. If this reflects your thinking, let’s ask the right questions and get some answers.

If the market is making you nervous, what should you do? Should you worry, get out, dump your stocks and buy bonds, go to gold or hunker down with cash? What should you do?

How about getting some factual information first and studying before you make an uninformed or emotional decision? How about learning what history can tell us about how the market actually works? Studying the long historical records of the market is where to start. Getting the facts before making an important financial decision is just common sense, but for some reason, when it comes to money, some of us leave our common sense at the door and rely on our feelings…..of fear, greed, anxiety and other emotions that trigger bad financial decisions. There is a better way, however.

What does history tells us? Let’s look at the facts.

01. Since the crash of 1929 to 2017, the broad market of US stocks (small, medium and large size companies) combined has enjoyed an average annual return of just under 10%.

02. For almost 100 years, US stocks have earned between 9% and 12% per year on average, in spite of negative years, market crashes and economic recessions in the US.

03. When measured in 10 year increments, the market has been positive for 28 of 32 of these 10 year periods. Of the 4 decades that were negative, 3 of them were in the 1930s.

04. People have not lost money in the market if they hold for 10 years or more.

05. A dollar in 1930 is the equivalent of $20.64 today (2018, at 3.5% inflation). = More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

COLUMNS/COMMENTARY

DAVE KIFFER: Put Down Your Danged Blinky Toy! - The other day a very, very long time friend noted that life is "pretty cool" because now all of us have "Star Trek Communicators."

Natch, I didn't burst his bubble by telling him I didn't have a "smart" phone. But his point is valid. Where once the idea of a personal communicator was science fiction, now pretty much every has one on his or her person at all times.

That's where I buck the tide. I do indeed have a cell phone, but it is one of the those cheap a-- Go phones that sits in a drawer unless I am traveling, which is pretty much impossible these days without some sort of personal communication device.

So why don't I carry a fancy-dancy blinky toy around like apparently every other carbon-based life form ( I learned that phrase from Star Trek!)?

Well, first of all, I am almost always within reach of a land line.

Second, if I am driving my car or in the bathroom, I do not want to talk to you. I am otherwise engaged.

Three, where I work cell phones are verboten. Besides, I am usually either teaching a class, talking to someone, or engaged in a work related task. I can't (WON'T) just drop whatever I am doing to talk to you. Send me an email. I will answer it when I have a minute.

And four, I would miss so-so-so much of life, if I spent it staring at a little screen in my hand.

But I digress.

I was thinking the other day, about the various things that one misses if they just stare endlessly at their modern day "palm pilot." - More...
Tuesday PM - October 02, 2018

jpg Political Cartoon: Democrat Manufactured Outrage

Political Cartoon: Democrat Manufactured Outrage
Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle, GA
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.

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Dan Bockhorst for Borough Assembly By Michael Carney - Dan Bockhorst is the ultimate professional in regards to government issues in Alaska and has been since he was the Haines Manager at the start of his professional life. Some people in the community have been intimidated by Dan and that is understandable because those who have chose to write letters in opposition to Dan understand that they could not hold a candle to him in regards to his work ethic or his attention to detail. The Airport would not be where it is today with out Dan Bockhorst leadership and the Borough General Fund would not be either. - More...
Saturday PM - September 29, 2018

Response to 'Anything but...' By Hannah Ramiskey - I usually do not get involved in the tit for tat conversations, but Michele O’Brien’s letter concerns me.

I find it interesting that you bash “old negative men” in the community while welcoming the young, fresh, and inexperienced. Huh, wonder how the 20% senior population in Ketchikan feels about your dismissal of their contributions to building Ketchikan through decades of difficult times? Sometimes being old and experienced means you remember what worked and what didn’t. - More...
Saturday PM - September 29, 2018

Response to 'Anything but Dan' By Dan Bockhorst - Michelle O’Brien’s letter to the editor (“Anything but Dan”) doesn’t hold up to objective scrutiny. I stand on my record as the longest serving Borough Manager in Ketchikan’s history. During the nearly 10 years that I was Borough Manager, the areawide property tax rate was reduced by more than 25%, taxes on personal property were eliminated, and the Borough’s General Fund was restored to health.

I was nominated for Borough Assembly by a number of young professionals, business leaders, and local elected officials with well more than a century of service to our community. I have the support of many current Borough employees. - More...
Saturday PM - September 29, 2018

Tracking the Outside Money in Alaska Politics By Larry Barsukoff - Since its inception, the Alaska Policy Forum has been guided by a vision of continuously growing prosperity in Alaska. Our work is to support policy and leadership that maximizes individual opportunity and empowers Alaskans to pursue that opportunity freely and with confidence.

We believe in our state and its people. We are optimistic and believe a bright future lies ahead. To ensure that bright future, Alaska’s voters and policymakers need to be able to make informed decisions based on a solid foundation of knowledge, transparency, and clarity regarding issues that will shape our path forward. - More...
Friday PM - September 28, 2018

Dan Bockhorst for Assembly By Hannah Ramiskey - I first met Dan Bockhorst when he arrived in Ketchikan as the new Borough manager. I was impressed with his commitment to the taxpayers of Ketchikan as he was not only having a new house built, but was shopping locally for the fixtures, appliances, and materials for his new home.

Sometime later I contacted Mr. Bockhorst about the senior citizen tax exemption issue - what were the legal guidelines for the ordinance and were seniors informed as to what was within the scope of the privilege? (It is sometimes a battle with customers when explaining to them that they could not use their exemption for rental property, nor for gifts). I was again impressed. Within a week Dan and his staff provided new brochures and store posters explaining to those over 65 what was and what was not allowed. I later realized that no matter what the issue, Mr. Bockhorst was always able to provide research on both sides for almost any concern in Ketchikan, or in the State of Alaska. - More...
Friday PM - September 28, 2018

Anything but Dan By Michelle O'Brien - Something is happening in Ketchikan right now, there is a wind of change. We have a good number of candidates running for office, almost all of whom are passionate about serving our community. That’s great!

Also, there’s a sense of renewal coming which could take away the breath of what I would term as “the old boy’s club.” And, in my opinion, there’s one candidate who exemplifies everything negative about that club... Dan Bockhorst. - More...
Friday PM - September 28, 2018

Ketchikan’s taxes compared to others . . . By Dan Bockhorst - Bill Rotecki recently urged that, “When someone implies that Ketchikan has the highest taxes in Southeast Alaska, please examine the details.” I have made comparisons of Ketchikan’s taxes to other communities. If Mr. Rotecki is referring to my comparisons, I urge him to take his own advice - examine the details.

First, contrary to Mr. Rotecki’s statement, I did not claim that Ketchikan’s taxes were higher than all communities in Southeast Alaska - just those in Sitka, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Juneau. Skagway has higher taxes than the other communities. - More...
Friday PM - September 27, 2018

KETCHIKAN'S TAXES By Bill Rotecki - there have recently been comparisons of Ketchikan taxes to others. To do this properly one must start by recognizing that Sitka, Wrangell, Petersburg and Juneau, all have combined city and boroughs. Ketchikan does not. To make a comparison one must do the calculation in the same way for each community. Otherwise the data can easily be misconstrued or misinterpreted.

In order to compare apples to apples, we must first combine our City and Borough taxes, and then divide that number by the population of the borough. - More...
Friday PM - September 28, 2018

Rachel Mitchell failed to cross examine properly. By Rob Holston - Dr Ford gave credible testimony in her allegations against Judge Kavanaugh and was seemingly made more credible by an almost non-existent cross examination by Rachel Mitchell. Mitchell had many failures but I’ll just mention a couple. Dr. Ford testified that her life was so disrupted after the alleged “attack” on her that she had a very difficult time with her first two years of college. Here is where Mitchell dropped the ball. She had no idea of where the ball was, how to pick it up or which direction to run with it.

Her immediate line of question should have been: What grades did you earn in math, science, english, history during your freshman year in high school. What was your freshman GPA. Could you please tell me the same answers for your sophomore year? Your junior year? Your senior year? If the attack happened as you allege, wouldn’t your GPA in high school take a drop during your junior and senior year? - More...
Friday PM - September 28, 2018

Trump Afraid of Mueller Investigation By Donald Moskowitz - Why is President Trump afraid of the Mueller investigation? Is Trump guilty of obstruction of justice, or collusion with the Russians in the Presidential election, or guilty of some other crime that Mueller is investigating?

President Trump continues to bash Mueller's investigation via twitter and Trump continues to refer to the investigation as a "witch hunt" or "hoax". Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said of Mueller's investigation---- "In this case, the investigation was much worse than the no crime". Giuliani keeps trying to discredit the investigation. - More...
Friday PM - September 28, 2018

Freight rates becoming an economy killer for Ketchikan By Chris Herby - I want to thank Mike Painter for his letter regarding our freight situation in Ketchikan. I also have wanted to get this discussion going for quite some time now. I think there must be an enormous amount of penned up frustration about this around the community. There is no doubt that we were all totally sold out by the State of Alaska and the Attorney General when they allowed one barge line to get a monopoly on our freight and hold us all hostage. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Vote Skan, Breithaupt, and Wong By Peter Stanton - I am writing to express my wholehearted support for three of the candidates in the upcoming local elections: Sonya Skan and Rachel Breithaupt, both running for the School Board, and Felix Wong, running for reelection to the Borough Assembly. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Matt Eisenhower for School Board By Austin Otos - In a time of crisis, strong leadership brings stability. With sexual misconduct, unfinished teacher contracts, and recalled public officials looming over Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District, I believe Matt Eisenhower brings stable leadership to the school board. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh By David G Hanger - Flash: By his own confession Brett Kavanaugh has totally disqualified himself from consideration as either a serious individual (in any sense of the term) or as a nominee to the Supreme Court. By his own admission he is a sexually repressed Victorian prude whose lack of experience combined with his incredible sexual inexperience completely disqualifies him from making any evaluation or decision about the sexual behavior of any other human being. And this cherry boy is what the Federalist Society and the extreme right wing wants to decide how every woman in this country must behave. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Thank you, Southeast Conference By Rep. Dan Ortiz - Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Southeast Conference Annual Meeting right here in Ketchikan. Ketchikan was an incredible host for hundreds of conference attendees; thank you to all the local volunteers. The conference even included a community reception and tours of the shipyard, the OceansAlaska hatchery, PeaceHealth, and the opening of the UAS-Ketchikan Maritime Center. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Open Letter: John Kerry and friends By A.M. Johnson - Senator Murkowski, is any of the following true? If so and you did nothing, you know now. If you knew and did nothing, which sort of says "Go along to get along", I would not be surprised. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 26, 2018

Roadless Rule: Phony Forest Service Process By Norbert Chaudhary - The decision was already made before the “Roadless Rule Process” even started. - More...
Friday AM - September 21, 2018

Political Challenge By Mike Painter - Now that I’ve dusted off my pencil & paper, I have an issue that I’ve long wanted to bring up for discussion. - More...
Friday AM - September 21, 2018

Austin Otos for Ketchikan Borough Assembly By Matt Eisenhower -Austin Otos is exactly the kind of person our community needs today for our Borough Assembly. He is thoughtful, careful, hardworking, and cares deeply for this community. Most importantly, Austin will represent young voices in our community. - More...
Friday AM - September 21, 2018

A vote for Austin Otos By Dan Ortiz - There are at least five quality candidates running for two Borough Assembly seats in the upcoming municipal elections. We owe each candidate a debt of gratitude for “putting themselves out there”. The lone incumbent, Felix Wong, has served the public well and done a great job in the role and deserves each voters careful consideration. - More...
Friday AM - September 21, 2018

Vote for Dan Bockhorst By Mike Painter - I served 4 terms (12 years) on the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly and I was one of the Assembly Members that hired Dan Bockhorst as Borough Manager. I was on the Assembly the entire time that Bockhorst was Borough Manager. - More...
Monday PM - September 17, 2018

Dan Bockhorst protects your family checkbook By Gary Wilken - I served in the Alaska Senate for twelve years (1997-2008). Whenever I needed help on a legislative matter involving local government, I turned to Dan Bockhorst. Dan played a pivotal role in my successful effort to reduce the State education tax on borough governments by one-third (Chapter 95, SLA 2001). To date, this tax reduction has saved Ketchikan Borough taxpayers $19.5 million without reducing vital funding to your Ketchikan schools. If the law remains in place, these savings will continue to grow. - More...
Monday PM - September 17, 2018

Younger Representation in Government By Austin Otos - As our political class ages, I have seen government slowly start to move away from representing younger demographics. The majority of young people, like myself, are interested in politics and want to be part of the political conversation. Even though we may seem disconnected through our usage of technology, we nonetheless share a common concern with older generations when it comes to long-term employment, access to housing, and affordable healthcare services - More...
Monday PM - September 17, 2018

Open Letter: Sen. Murkowski By Laura Plenert - Please remember Senator Murkowski that you are the Senator for ALL Alaskans, NOT JUST the Alaska Federation of Natives. - More...
Monday PM - September 17, 2018

No to Kavanaugh By Hallie Engel - I want to ask your readers to call their senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and ask them to vote against Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. - More...
Monday PM - September 17, 2018

Navy In Dire Straits By Donald Moskowitz - As a former Navy enlisted and Naval officer who served on 13 ships, including destroyers, radar pickets, aircraft carriers and auxiliary ships, I am concerned with the lack of readiness of the Fleet. - More...
Monday PM - September 17, 2018

Vote Dunleavy for Governor; Shaw for House;
Bockhorst for Borough Assembly By Rodney Dial - Friends, I have been on the Borough Assembly for a few years now. I was convinced to run by citizens who believe our community is becoming too expensive, especially for our elderly and our young. I told you that if you elected me I would not vote to raise your property or sales taxes and would work to make government more efficient. I have kept my word. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 12, 2018

LiSA’S CHOICE By David G Hanger - Only two things of real consequence have emerged from the Brett Kavanaugh hearings: 1) First is the fact that Kavanaugh repeatedly lied to Congress about his criminal involvement in and use of stolen government documents during the Bush Jr. administration. These repeated lies to Congress are sufficient in and of themselves to impeach this extremist ideological cretin from his current judgeship, and definitely disqualifies him for consideration as a legitimate Supreme Court Justice; 2) There are no laws telling a man what he can do with his body, a simple fundamental fact. Yet Kavanaugh, despite his denials to the contrary (all lies) does not believe that Roe v Wade is the law of the land, and is in fact looking forward to the opportunity to overturn Roe v Wade at the earliest moment possible. - More...
Wednesday AM - September 12, 2018

RE: The Crisis at Waterfall By Dan Bockhorst - Regarding Austin Otos’ September 3 letter to the Editor, it’s best not to create false expectations. Mr. Otos indicates that the “Ketchikan Gateway Borough could allocate money from PILT (payment in lieu of taxes)” to construct a $1 million water tank to enable the North Tongass Fire Service Area to provide better fire protection past the Waterfall bridges. - More...
Friday PM - September 07, 2018

Salmon Hatcheries Support Alaskans, and Feed the World By Casey Campbell & Mike Wells - When the Good Friday earthquake shook Alaska in 1964, the damage wasn’t confined to buildings and homes. In some coastal areas, the land and ocean floor were uplifted dramatically impacting the productivity of aquatic habitat for decades. - More...
Friday PM - September 07, 2018

RE: Establishing Basic Protections for Salmon By Owen Graham - Earlier this week I read an Opinion piece in Sitnews about the need to increase habitat protections for Alaska’s salmon. The article alleged that cumulative impacts on salmon can be seen in the watersheds around Southeast and in the salmon returns and harvests. That is incorrect; although salmon populations fluctuate from year to year, both the salmon escapements and salmon harvests in Southeast are much higher now than in the 1950s when most logging and other development commenced in Southeast Alaska. - More...
Friday PM - September 07, 2018

Kavanaugh Bad for Alaska’s Tribes By Richard (Chalyee Éesh) Peterson - On Tuesday, September 4th, the Senate Judiciary Committee began confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the United States Supreme Court. His confirmation is being painted as inevitable, and it will be unless our Alaska Senators take action to stop it. - More...
Friday PM - September 07, 2018

Dumping AT&T cell phone service - going with Consumer Cellular. By Rob Holston - For many years, as business owners, my wife and I used AT&T cell phone service for ourselves and a few key employees. We were very pleased until several months ago when I suddenly suspected that my iPhone had developed some sort of internal short! I was suffering from one dropped call after another....... come to find out my wife’s phone had the same problem and ANYONE I’ve talked to re AT&T cell service seems to have the same problem. “You can hear them and they can’t hear you” is the common theme. - More...
Friday PM - September 07, 2018

Establishing Basic Protections for Salmon By Joe Mehrkens - Wild salmon stocks are under attack from all sides: ocean warming, habitat loss, over exploitation and pollution. While Alaska has enjoyed the benefit of good fisheries management, the cumulative impacts are taking its toll. Both professionals and non-professionals can see it in the watersheds around Southeast and in the salmon returns and harvests. One gillnetter moored across from me said he had only netted 7 Taku sockeyes this season. Simply stated, the risks of kicking the salmon can down the road makes a Yes on Ballot Measure 1 both critical and timely. - More...
Monday PM - September 03, 2018

The Crisis at Waterfall By Austin Otos - The two waterfall bridges located on North Tongass Highway are a prime example of neglected local infrastructure that needs to be completely rebuilt in order to allow for basic access to the property owners that live beyond them. - More...
Monday PM - September 03, 2018

Statement of Withdrawal By Ghert Abbott - I decided to run on March 25th as a result of Representative Ortiz’s then failure to put forth a clear, comprehensive plan for both the protection and increase of the permanent fund dividend. On August 23rd, Representative Ortiz published a plan calling for a lower draw on the Earnings Reserve, a lower state share of said draw, a greater system of non-regressive revenue in order to support essential pubic services and a larger PFD, and a commitment to make increasing the PFD a top priority as the state’s fiscal situation improves. These proposals, if fully enacted, would mean a moving away from the horrifically unfair PFD tax imposed on us by Senate Bill 26. - More...
Monday PM - September 03, 2018

Tribute To CAPT John McCain, USN By Donald Moskowitz - John McCain was shot down over Vietnam in October 1967 after completing over 20 missions. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. While McCain fought in Vietnam our fearless President got four college draft deferments. After graduating in 1968 Trump visited a doctor who provided him with a letter stating he had bone spurs in a heel and this enabled him to get a medical deferment from the draft. He later said the bone spurs were "minor". - More...
Monday PM - September 03, 2018

Some things to think about By A. M. Johnson - Political activity of recent months surely has raised questions, caused consternations, given rise to conspiracy theory among other categories of politics mechanics. - More...
Monday PM - September 03, 2018

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