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Alaska: Byron Mallott resigns as Lieutenant Governor effective immediately; Valerie Nurr'araaluk Davidson sworn in as Lieutenant Governor By MARY KAUFFMAN - Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced this afternoon that Byron Mallott has resigned as Lieutenant Governor effective immediately, and Valerie Nurr'araaluk Davidson has been sworn into the office during a private ceremony in Walker’s Anchorage office.

Governor Waller wrote in a statement, “It is with profound disappointment and sadness that I accepted the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott.  Byron recently made inappropriate comments that do not reflect the sterling level of behavior required in his role as Lieutenant Governor. I learned of the incident last night. Byron has taken full responsibility for his actions and has resigned."

Walker wrote, "As leaders, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards of conduct. "

"Valerie Davidson was confirmed as Lieutenant Governor-designee earlier this April. She was sworn in today as Lieutenant Governor. Doctor Jay Butler has been appointed Commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services. Alaskans can be confident that Valerie Davidson will assume the duties of Lieutenant Governor with grace and dignity,” wrote Walker.

Newly appointed Lieutenant Governor Valerie Davidson wrote in a prepared statement, “Alaskans deserve the highest standards of conduct by their elected officials. While I am deeply saddened by the resignation of Lt. Governor Byron Mallott, I am profoundly disappointed by his conduct." 

Davidson said, "Respect for women, and the dignity of all Alaskans, is our responsibility. I stand ready to serve as your Lieutenant Governor.”

In the letter of resignation to Governor Walker dated today, Mallott wrote his resignation is "compelled by inappropriate comments I made that placed a person whom I respect and revere in a position of vulnerability."

Mallott wrote that he takes full responsibility for his action and apologized to and seek healing for the person he hurt. He wrote that he also seeks healing for his family, his staff, friends and all those who had placed their faith in him and have been let down by his behavior. He recognized that his actions have compromised Gov. Walker's ability to lead the state and express his remorse and sorrow in his letter to Walker.

"I believe Alaskans have the right to hold their leader to the highest standards of conduct I have fallen well short," wrote Mallott.

According to the Walker Mallott campaign, Mallott's resignation also applies to the Walker Mallott campaign. Though Mallott cannot remove his name from the ballot, Mallott will not accept the position of Lieutenant Governor if elected. 

According to the Alaska Division of Elections, although Election Day is not until November 6, the election actually begins on October 22 with early and absentee in-person, electronic transmission, and special needs voting. Accordingly, the general election ballot has been certified and printed, and Bill Walker and Byron Mallott appear together as candidates for governor and lieutenant governor on that ballot.

The Division of Elections has conferred with the Alaska Department of Law. Under state law, it is too late for a candidate to withdraw from the ballot; that must happen at least 64 days before the general election. Under the Alaska Constitution, a vote for governor is considered a vote for the lieutenant governor running with him or her. Even if a lieutenant governor withdraws, the gubernatorial candidate may remain on the ballot. Accordingly, if Governor Walker is re-elected, Byron Mallott will technically be elected along with him. However, given Mallott’s resignation, Governor Walker would be able to appoint a lieutenant governor successor consistent with state statute.

Alaska Gubernatorial candidate Mike Dunleavy in response to the resignation of Lt. Governor Byron Mallott released a statement this afternooon saying, “As we, like all Alaskans, await details surrounding the resignation of the lieutenant governor, our campaign remains focused on restoring trust in state government."

Dunleavy said, “We need safe neighborhoods, a health economy and full Permanent Fund dividends. This campaign has always been about the people of Alaska, not politicians.” 

Alaska Senate Democratic Leader Berta Gardner (D-Anchorage) said in a prepared statement, "I am truly disappointed by the event relating to the Lt. Governor. As elected public officials, we must maintain public trust and uphold integrity. I send my condolences to the victim of this event and the family members of Lt. Governor Mallott who are impacted." - More...
Tuesday PM - October 16, 2018

Fish Factor: Next year’s groundfish catches By LAINE WELCH - Catches for next year’s groundfish fisheries reflect ups and downs for Alaska’s key species -  pollock and cod – and the stocks appear to be heading north to colder waters.

The bulk of Alaska’s fish catches come from waters from three to 200 miles offshore with oversight by federal fishery managers. Their advisory arm, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, reviews stock assessments for groundfish each October and sets preliminary catches for the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea and updates them as new data become available.

If the proposed catches get the go ahead in December, the Bering Sea pollock harvest will increase slightly to nearly 1.4 million metric tons, or over three billion pounds of pollock.   

For Pacific cod, Bering Sea the catch could be reduced to 350 million pounds, a drop of 64 million pounds from this year.  

The cod numbers might change due to big differences between the 2017 and 2018 survey results in southeastern and northern waters, where large numbers of fish appear to be migrating. Over the year, the cod biomass dropped 21 percent in the southern region but increased 95 percent in the northern area. 

The northern cod are genetically similar to the southern cod, making it unlikely that the fish hail from Russia or the Gulf of Alaska, said NOAA research biologist Ingrid Spies in a presentation to the Council last week.

“What happens to those fish in the north is still an open question,” NOAA scientist Grant Thompson told Undercurrent News. “Are they spawning up there? Are they maturing and dying? “It’s kind of uncharted territory.” 

The numbers are more straightforward for pollock and cod catches in the Gulf of Alaska and reflect declines for both species. Proposed pollock catches show a 34 percent drop 228 million pounds, a drop of 118 million pounds from this year. For Gulf cod, next year’s catch is likely to be down 5.5 percent to 27.2 million pounds, a decline of 1.6 million pounds. 

One of the brightest Gulf of Alaska findings is the continuing upward trend of sablefish (black cod) seen over several years. The preliminary sablefish catch for 2019 was boosted by 40 percent to nearly 36 million pounds. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 16, 2018

Heather Smith, an anthropologist at Eastern New Mexico University, wrote a recent paper based on spear-point fragments she and others found near Serpentine Hot Springs during the summers of 2010 and 2011.

In her study, she wrote the stone points represent “either Clovis groups moving north through the ice-free corridor to northern Yukon and Alaska, or the interaction of Clovis groups with humans already present in the northwestern Subarctic and Arctic.”

Found only in North and South America, fluted points were part of a famous find near Clovis, New Mexico, that scientists radiocarbon dated to be about 13,000 years old. Anthropologists have found fluted points in several places in Alaska, including near Serpentine Hot Springs.

In chipping those fluted points with other stone, bone or antler tools, Pleistocene hunters etched a groove in the bases to attach spears of wood with sinew. Despite being thin and appearing brittle, these fluted points were stout enough to penetrate the hide of a bison or caribou.

The Alaska fluted points are somewhat similar to those first found near Clovis, New Mexico, but showed a modified design from the original Clovis points, which are 1,000 years older.

Part of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Serpentine Hot Springs is a mystical landscape of toothy granite tors jutting from low tundra plants. In a nearby draw are a few well-kept buildings, one with sleeping quarters and a workshop and another covering a hot springs pool, often visited by people from Shishmaref, about 40 miles north.

Years ago, Bob Gal, a former National Park Service archaeologist, found spear tips a few miles from the hot springs. Ted Goebel, an anthropologist at Texas A&M University, traveled to Serpentine Hot Springs in the summers of 2009 to 2011. The latter two years, Goebel’s crew chief at the dig site was Heather Smith, who was then earning her Ph.D.

The points they unearthed at Serpentine Hot Springs were useful in that they were buried, allowing the scientists to better tell how old they were by comparing them to charcoal found next to them. - More...
Tuesday PM - October 16, 2018

ARTHUR MARTIN: The Sexism of “Binary Living” AKA The Politics of “She-Sheds and Man Caves” By ARTHUR MARTIN - I’m trembling….
I’m shaking….
I’m convulsing….

Due to my White “Cis” Patriarchal Privilege I was blind-sided (no offense to blind people) recently with a term I have never heard before, “She-Sheds.” For years I gloated to my wife over my regal, rules-free “man-cave,” free from her feminine OCD. In one such recent argument about me not putting my shoes “away” and my complaining about how strict her rules are. 

I indignantly argued, “Yes, you own and run the entire house, BUT my dearest…” I exclaimed in between puffs on my Peterson Amber briar pipe, “I OWN the Man Cave and no rules of yours apply there! In fact, after I make an addition to the back room, I’m going to put a patio in the backyard with a BBQ pit and I’ll put my shoes where ever I want there!” I put my pipe-down on the cedar table and picked up my martini (stirred not shaken, dirty and with two olives) savoring a taste with a smug grin spreading on my handsome rugged face. 

“Not so fast…” she answered back in a dangerously silky tone and approached me. 

“I already told you last month, I’m building a she-shed in the back yard.” 

My smile slowly disappeared and changed to indignation and then confusion, “You said no such thing!” I exclaimed puffing out my chest and slamming the martini glass on the table watching drops from the drink spill onto my pipe and then on the glossy tabletop. “And what the hell is a She-Shed?” 

“You’re such a typical male millennial!” she scoffed, putting her hands on her hips glaring up at me.

“A she-shed is a small bungalow, my own private retreat, that will help me ‘shed’ all the stress of living with you Arthur,” I noticed that she let out a loving sigh after she said my name. “Good” I thought to myself, “she still respects and adores me.” Picking up my pipe again I sized her up, “Ok….” I began, “ but what the hell is a bungalow?” 

“Ugh!!” She exclaimed, snatched the pipe out of my hand and stormed off. 

“What did I say?” I replied, confusion fully replacing my demeanor. 

So here I am, dear reader, sitting in my man cave over looking the backyard, which will no longer have the 3-Piece BBQ Island with the 32 inch BBQ Grill I envisioned. - More....
Tuesday PM - October 16, 2018