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Alaska: Two Alaska service providers to receive $46 million in USDA Grants to Expand High-Speed Internet Access; Alaska Power & Telephone Awarded $21.5m USDA ReConnect Grant for Prince of Wales Island Fiber Optic Cable and Rural Broadband Buildout Posted & Edited By MARY KAUFFMAN - The Trump Administration announced this week that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $46.5 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Alaska. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program.

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Congressman Don Young, (all R-Alaska) joined U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue on Tuesday for a virtual announcement of more than $46 million in USDA Broadband ReConnect Program grants being awarded to two Alaska service providers to establish and improve broadband infrastructure in some of the state’s most remote communities. The grants are matched by nearly $17 million contributed by the grant recipients, bringing the total investment to roughly $63 million. 

The two USDA grant recipients are Alaska Power & Telephone (AP&T) Wireless Company and Unicom, Inc., a subsidiary of GCI. Both recipients were participants in the virtual announcement.

AP&T Wireless was awarded $21.5 million ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 225 people, 32 businesses, an educational facility, a post office and a fire station to high-speed broadband internet in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska.

Unicom was awarded $25 million to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 7,441 people, 310 businesses, 10 educational facilities, seven post offices, four fire stations and a city hall to high-speed broadband internet in Kodiak Island Borough, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Aleutians East Borough and Aleutians West Census Area in Alaska.

“The need for rural broadband has never been more apparent than it is now – as our nation manages the coronavirus national emergency. Access to telehealth services, remote learning for school children, and remote business operations all require access to broadband,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said.

Perdue said, “I am so proud of our rural communities who have been working day in and day out, just like they always do, producing the food and fiber America depends on. We need them more than ever during these trying times, and expanding access to this critical infrastructure will help ensure rural America prospers for years to come.”

Alaska Power & Telephone Company's (AP&T) subsidiary AP&T Wireless, Inc. was selected to receive a $21,545,167 grant award through USDA Rural Utility Service’s ReConnect grant program for the “SEALink” broadband project. AP&T will provide over $7m in matching funds. Funds will be used to construct local networks which will provide high-speed broadband to all premises in Kasaan and Coffman Cove, and to develop and install an estimated 214-mile fiber optic cable between Prince of Wales Island, Petersburg, and Juneau. While grant-funded activities will focus on providing high speed broadband service in Kasaan and Coffman Cove, SEALink will support increased fiber optic-based broadband build-out and higher speeds across Prince of Wales Island.

The SEALink project will help fortify long-term economic and community stability on Prince of Wales Island, where legacy industries such as timber and mining have been in decline, and where residents have ever-increasing needs for broadband to support telemedicine, distance learning, remote working, ecommerce, tourism marketing, and sharing cultural resources and knowledge.

AP&T President and CEO Mike Garrett stated: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for residents of Kasaan and Coffman Cove to leap ahead of the digital divide. Other communities on Prince of Wales Island will also benefit from this new partnership with USDA to build the communications highway of the future.”

Development will occur over the next five years, with completion planned for 2025. After that, AP&T anticipates extending high- speed broadband to other communities on Prince of Wales Island.

Jason Custer, Vice President of Business Development, said, “This is very much a team victory made possible through collaboration and shared vision. We say “Háw'aa” and “Gunalchéesh” from the bottom of our hearts to Marina Anderson and Bonnie Hammar at the Organized Village of Kasaan, and Richard Peterson with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska for their support, collaboration, and encouragement throughout the application process. We also express thanks to everyone at Kavilco, the City of Coffman Cove, and the City of Kasaan for their leadership, guidance, and assistance in documenting community support. AP&T is excited to see the ways in which tribal members, ANCSA shareholders, and community members will be able to leverage high-speed broadband to achieve a diverse variety of socioeconomic objectives.”

Tom Ervin, Chief Operating Officer for AP&T, stated: "SEALink will provide fantastic support for community economic sustainability. New fiber infrastructure will ensure Kasaan and Coffman Cove residents will have substantial broadband capabilities for use in telemedicine applications, distance learning, remote working, and more. We congratulate and thank the communities for all their hard work to make this a success."

Commenting on the Southwest Alaska and the Aleutians' award, "This is a critical piece of infrastructure to our region that will bridge Alaska’s digital divide,” said Senate Majority Leader Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel). “Soon, more rural Alaskans will have high speed, affordable broadband in our homes and businesses in communities along the chain.” - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

Alaska: Dunleavy Addresses Alaska Federation of Natives 2020 Convention - Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy addressed the Alaska Federation of Natives 2020 Convention virtually on Thursday, speaking on the topics of public health in the face of a global pandemic, strides made in public safety, a cooperative partnership ensuring educational success, and his commitment to the Alaska Native community. - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

Alaska: Governor's Updated Interstate and International Travel Guidance Goes into Effect Friday - Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, yesterday issued updated guidance on COVID-19 Health Mandate 10 on Interstate and International Travel, providing clear requirements related to international and interstate travel, while still providing mitigation factors to prevent, slow, and otherwise disrupt the spread of the virus. - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

Ketchikan: Ketchikan's COVID-19 Community Risk Level-2 Moderate; Operations in Ketchikan School District planned to resume on Monday, 10/19/20 By MARY KAUFFMAN - One new positive case of Covid-19 was reported in Ketchikan Thursday. This individual was symptomatic and sought testing at a local health clinic. The source has been classified as community spread. This individual has been notified of the positive test result, has been directed to isolate, and is being monitored by healthcare providers. As of October 15, 2020, Ketchikan's Community Risk Level remains at Level 2-Moderate.

Thursday's case brings the cumulative Covid-19 case count in Ketchikan, including travelers, to 81. The number of positive cases of individuals residing or staying in Ketchikan is 69. Of the 69 cases, 5 are still active, and 64 have recovered.

One new positive case of Covid-19 was identified in Ketchikan Wednesday. This individual is a Ketchikan High Student who was symptomatic, and sought testing at a local health clinic. The case is under investigation as to the source. This individual has been notified of the positive test result, has been directed to isolate, and is being monitored by healthcare providers.

As part of their Covid-19 response plan, Ketchikan High School, including District Offices and Pre-Schools located at Kayhi were closed Thursday, October 15th, and will also be closed Friday, October 16th , as previously planned. The positive case of Covid-19 identified on Wednesday was determined by Public Health to also be Community Spread. This takes the number of Community Spread cases identified in the last week to three and results in an another increase in risk level to Level 2 - Moderate.

One new positive case was identified in Ketchikan on October 10, 2020. This person is an asymptomatic resident who had sought testing from a local provider. The cause of the positive result is under investigation. This individual has been notified of the positive test result, has been directed to isolate, and is being monitored by healthcare providers. Public Health officials have begun the contact investigation and will reach out to any person who may have come into contact with this individual. Public Health will notify and quarantine additional persons as appropriate.

There were five (5) new positive cases of COVID-19 reported in Ketchikan on October 07, 2020. This brought the total number of cases last week to eight (8). One case was travel related and the other seven (7) are close contact to a known positive. Of the eight individuals, 5 were symptomatic with primary symptoms of headache and body aches. All eight (8) cases are associated with a single location/outbreak and not community spread.

Last week, the positive test rate had risen to approximately 1.3%, indicating a greater prevalence of the virus in the Ketchikan community and causing the EOC to raise Ketchikan's Community Risk Level from Level 1-Low to Level 2: Moderate.

These were the first positive cases reported since September 14-15, 2020 at which time the risk level was Level-1 Low. One of those cases was a local resident and one was a traveler. As of September 15, 2020, the cumulative COVID-19 case count, including travelers, was 68. The number of positive cases of individuals residing or staying in Ketchikan was 56. Of the 56 cases, 2 were still active, and 54 have recovered.

If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop any symptoms, no matter how minor - such as a fever, cough, difficulty breathing, headache, or bodyache - call your healthcare provider for medical advice or use the Testing Hotline and call 247-TEST (8378). 

Free Covid-19 Testing is available at the Berth 3 Drive Up facility during the hours of 9:30-11:30 am and 2:30-4:30 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

Beth Lougee, Superintendent of the Ketchikan Gateway School District stated in a news release Thursday that Ketchikan High School will reopen October 16, 2020, for staff and public use. The school building was closed for 24 hours to allow for contract tracing, disinfecting, and deep cleaning after we received notification of a positive COVID case.

Per a previously-scheduled closure due to parent/teacher conferences, Ketchikan High School and the preschools housed in the high school building will not be in session on Friday, October 16th. 

The following events are cleared to occur according to Superintendent Lougee: - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

The Specter of a Mega-Tsunami in Alaska
By ADAM VOILAND
Barry Arm - June 2019

Alaska: The Specter of a Mega-Tsunami in Alaska By ADAM VOILAND - While kayaking in Barry Arm fjord in June 2019, Valisa Higman, an artist-in-residence at Alaska’s Chugach National Forest, noticed some odd fractures on a cliff overlooking the fjord. Curious if the slope might be in the process of collapsing, she emailed photos (see one of them below) to her brother, Bretwood Higman. “Hig” is a geologist with Ground Truth Alaska, and he has studied landslides and tsunami deposits for decades.

He was soon inspecting the area using Google Maps, zooming in to the maximum extent possible and searching for signs of slippage. He saw the cracks as well, but nothing about them struck him as strong evidence of a big landslide. “But it turns out I had made a geology 101 error,” he said. “I hadn’t zoomed out enough, and I missed the big picture.” Still, he kept Barry Arm on a list of possible landslides to investigate more someday.

A few months later, Chunli Dai offered that chance. The Ohio State researcher was working on a NASA-funded project to develop new ways to automatically detect landslides in the Arctic, and she was looking for test sites to check how well the tool was working. Her project makes use of a high-resolution dataset called ArcticDEM and machine learning to automatically search for and flag landslides.

When Dai used her tools to survey the Barry Arm area, she got some eye-popping results—an entire mountainside near Barry Glacier was slowly and subtly shifting. If the giant, slow-moving landslide were to suddenly collapse into the narrow fjord below, it would generate an extremely large tsunami because of the way the fjord's shape would amplify the wave.

“It was hard to believe the numbers at first,” said Dai. “Based on the elevation of the deposit above the water, the volume of land that was slipping, and the angle of the slope, we calculated that a collapse would release sixteen times more debris and eleven times more energy than Alaska’s 1958 Lituya Bay landslide and mega-tsunami.” That event, which was triggered by a 7.8 earthquake, dropped millions of cubic yards of rock about 2,000 feet (600 meters) into a fjord. It produced what is thought to be the tallest wave (1,700 feet) in modern history. In an event that eyewitnesses compared to an atomic bomb explosion, the huge wave washed away soil in a wide ring around the bay and obliterated millions of trees. [See SitNews July 2008: SURVIVING THE BIGGEST WAVE EVER, 1,700 Foot Wave Devastated Lituya Bay By DAVE KIFFER]

Yet Higman and several of Dai’s colleagues were initially skeptical that there actually was a slide in Barry Arm. The size of the landslide Dai was reporting was enormous—far bigger than any other known landslides in Alaska. Her detection technique was new and untested. And in some other areas, the presence of snow cover, shadows, or clouds caused the tool to erroneously label features in satellite images as landslides when they clearly were not.

But Dai kept looking and checking other types of satellite data, including a  decades-long series of Landsat images of Barry Arm via Google Timelapse. When she scrutinized 2013 and 2016 satellite images of the area, it became abundantly clear that her ArcticDEM results were real.

“With the wider perspective from Landsat, the movement of the slope was impossible to miss,” she said. “You can see a whole section of the mountain between Cascade Glacier and Barry Glacier slumping toward the water.” (In the Landsat images at the top of this page, use the slider to see the movement for yourself.) The slope moved forward by about 400 feet (120 meters) between 2010 and 2017. Since 2017, it has moved very little. - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

Analysis: Epic miscalls and landslides unforeseen: The exceptional catalog of polling failure By W. JOSEPH CAMPBELL - The question looms in nearly every U.S. presidential election, even in this year's race: Could the polls be wrong? If they are, they likely will err in unique fashion. The history of election polling says as much.

That history tells of no greater polling surprise than what happened in 1948, when President Harry Truman defied the polls, the pundits and the press to defeat Thomas E. Dewey, his heavily favored Republican foe.

Pollsters were certain Truman had no chance. One of them, Elmo Roper, was so confident of Dewey's victory that he announced two months before the election he would release no further survey data unless a political miracle intervened.

Rival pollsters George Gallup and Archibald Crossley largely completed their poll-taking by mid-October - and missed a decisive shift in support to Truman in the campaign's closing days.

As I point out in my latest book, "Lost in a Gallup: Polling Failure in U.S. Presidential Elections," the misfire of 1948 was exceptional. And that describes most polling failures in presidential elections: They tend to be exceptional, unlike previous polling errors.

No pattern

When the polls go wrong, they almost always do so in some unanticipated way. Errors spring from no single template.

This variety helps explain why polling failure is so unpredictable and so jarring. The epic miscall of 1948 has never been duplicated in U.S. presidential elections - although the shock of Truman's victory may have been rivaled by the profound surprise that accompanied Donald Trump's in in 2016.

Trump's victory represented polling failure of another kind: Polls in 2016 were not so much in error nationally as they were in states such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

If Hillary Clinton had carried those states, as polls had indicated, she would have won the electoral votes to become president. But errors in state-level polls upset national expectations, in part because those polls tended to include too few white voters without college degrees, a key Trump constituency in 2016 and this year. - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

Analysis: What is HIPAA? 5 questions answered about the medical privacy law that protects Trump's test results and yours By MARGARET RILEY - When President Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19, his doctor pointed to "HIPAA rules and regulations” as the reason he couldn’t speak more freely about Trump's condition. HIPAA is a medical privacy law, but people often misunderstand what it does and doesn't do.

Margaret Riley is a law professor at the University of Virginia who specializes in health law. She spends a lot of time teaching future lawyers and medical professionals how medical privacy laws work. Here are the basics.

1. What is HIPAA and why did Congress pass it?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s Privacy Rule is a federal law that went into force in 2003. The need for such a law had been underscored when tennis star Arthur Ashe’s HIV status was revealed publicly and country music star Tammy Wynette's health records were sold to tabloids for a few thousand dollars. People were also starting to worry about genetic privacy. And Congress recognized that the internet would make it easier for health care privacy breaches to occur.

The law prohibits health care providers and businesses and people working with them - icluding administrative staff, laboratories, pharmacies, health insurers and so on - from disclosing your health information without your permission. That includes information about your COVID-19 symptoms and test results - though there are some exceptions.

2. Is all my medical info protected by HIPAA?

No, HIPAA protects only health care information that is held by specific kinds of health care providers. For example, health care data that may be on your Apple Watch or Fitbit are usually not covered by HIPAA. Similarly, genetic data you enter on websites like Ancestry.com are not covered by HIPAA.

Even some apps that do things like help you maintain your blood sugar may not be covered by HIPAA if you aren't using them at the direction of your health care provider. Other laws or agreements like the privacy disclosures required on many apps (although many people don't read them) may protect that information, but HIPAA does not.

Employers are generally not covered health providers, so HIPAA does not apply to them. If necessary to protect others, your work could share that you have an illness. That said, other laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act may prevent your employer from disclosing identifiable health information about you that you may have shared with them.

3. Who can disclose what under HIPAA?

HIPAA gives you the right to control your health information disclosures so you can tell your health care provider what to share.

For example, you may be willing to have your health care provider share some of your health information with family members, but you might not want to share all of it; you can tell your health care provider not to share any stigmatizing information or procedures that your family might not know about. You need to be very clear with your health care provider if you want to exclude some information. Some information, like psychotherapy notes or giving your data to marketing companies, requires written authorization. - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

CHRISTINE FLOWERS: TAKE A GOOD, HARD LOOK AT KAMALA HARRIS - When Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris as his running mate back a couple of months ago, it was historic.

Third woman, first “woman of color” as we keep being reminded, first “child born of immigrants,” Harris was impressive if only because of her novelty. And some felt that she was impressive because of a lot of other factors, including her intelligence and resume.

I DVR’d last week’s vice presidential debate featuring Harris and Vice President Mike Pence so I could give it the attention it deserved, which translates into “freeze framing and rewinding” those moments of particular interest.

I had heard about the fly on Pence’s head, and wanted to see the little squatter for myself. I had heard about the eye rolling and grimaces from Harris and her almost “I’m With Stupid” mannerisms when the current vice president was talking. I already had experience with her whiny, nasal delivery, and as an aside, am considering elective ear drum removal if she does become veep. And I had also heard about how each candidate had expertly and consistently deflected questions like “will you support packing the Supreme Court” and “is climate change real?”

Everything I’d heard was confirmed by the DVR. Pence hit some birdies, and Harris made some cogent points. - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

CARL GOLDEN: JUST GIVE US AN ANSWER, JOE! - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s stubborn, self-defeating refusal to venture an opinion on suggestions to increase the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices is a textbook example of poor decision-making that’s turned what should have been a one day story into a running narrative that threatens to dominate the campaign discussion three weeks out from Election Day.

Biden compounded the controversy with his appallingly arrogant response to reporters that the American people didn’t “deserve” to know his position on the court packing scheme being pushed by his party’s left wing.

Biden and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, have dodged repeated questions seeking their position on issue.

Biden brushed the inquiries aside, saying he’d articulate a position once the election was over, adding that he wanted to avoid media coverage of his response. A strange stance in a business that relies on media coverage for its existence.

The idea of increasing the court’s membership was floated by a bloc of left wing Democrats in response to President Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the seat left open by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. - More...
Friday AM - October 16, 2020

Political Cartoon: How to Wear Your Mask
By Jeff Koterba ©2020, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.