Ketchikan: BC Ferry dry docked at the Ketchikan Ship Yard for repairs - British Columbia's north coast has lost its only ferry service for a week while the Queen of Prince Rupert is dry docked in Ketchikan for repairs. The Queen of Prince Rupert arrived in Ketchikan Monday for repair work at Ketchikan Ship and Dry Dock.

News In Photos Queen of Prince Rupert in dry dock at Ketchikan Ship and Dry Dock Monday evening. Front Page Photo by Carl Thompson

The ship was damaged in mid-October when a crab trap line became wrapped around one of the Queen of Prince Rupert's stern tubes. Stern tubes are the housing that holds the vessel's two props in place. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Fish Factor: Feedback on fisheries management and other marine issues sought By LAINE WELCH - It seems likely that Alaskans have more opportunity to give their two cents about fisheries management and other marine issues than any other people in the world.

Right now, for example, no fewer than seven calls are out for feedback on issues ranging from sport fishing expenditures to federal aquaculture plans to visions for Alaska's commercial fisheries to input on past shootings of sea lions.

Starting with sport fish - two surveys are being conducted at the national level that are specific to salt water angling. "These will provide a first look at the economic impacts of salt water versus fresh water angling in Alaska," said Bill Romburg, at the AK Dept. of Fish and Game office in Anchorage. Both mail surveys will tap a random sample of the roughly 435 thousand resident and non resident anglers who purchased sport fish licenses in 2005 or 2006.

Already underway is The "Saltwater Sport Fishing Expenditure Survey," which is part of a national effort to find out how much money saltwater sport fishing contributes to state and national economies, including how many jobs it supports. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Alaska: Alaskans Will Cast Advisory Vote on Same-Sex Benefits; Fourth Special Session Comes to a Close - Monday the Alaska Senate ended the fourth special session of the 25th Alaska Legislature after passing two bills dealing with state benefits for same-sex couples.

HB 4002 asks the public to weigh in on the issue. It requires a statewide advisory vote to be held on April 3, 2007. The bill passed 12 - 7. Alaskans will be asked to vote yes or no to the following question: Shall the legislature adopt a proposed amendment to the state constitution to be considered by the voters at the 2008 general election that would prohibit the state, or a municipality or other subdivision of the state, from providing employment benefits to same-sex partners of public employees and to same-sex partners of public employee retirees? - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

A hen Evermann's rock ptarmigan sits camouflaged in the foreground. It was released on Agattu Island in 2004. In the background is Aga Cove on Agattu and the Tiglax, the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Ship that gave this bird and 74 others a 30-mile ride from Attu Island. Photo by Ned Rozell

Alaska: Biological clock turned back in western Aleutians By NED ROZELL - There aren't many places left in the world where animals make a comeback after they've disappeared, but an island in the western Aleutians may be a pleasant exception.

Agattu Island is a treeless green expanse of tundra and small mountains, located, about as far west as you can go in Alaska. Ptarmigan lived there for centuries before Russian and, later, American trappers found a good way to produce arctic fox pelts was to leave a pair of fox on an Aleutian island and return in few years to harvest their offspring. While the luxurious coats of the foxes brought trappers heaps of money, the foxes they introduced ate all the ptarmigan and eggs in their unprotected nests. By the late 1930s, ptarmigan disappeared from Agattu, but somehow survived on the nearby, much larger island of Attu.

For years, biologists with the Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge have recognized how destructive foxes were to the ground-nesting birds in the Aleutians. They started killing foxes on islands in 1949 and discovered that it was possible to remove every single one from an island with a few years of effort. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Science: By 2048 all current fish, seafood species projected to collapse - Marine species loss is accelerating and threatening human well-being, according to a report published this month in the journal Science published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society.

"Species have been disappearing from ocean ecosystems and this trend has recently been accelerating," said lead author Boris Worm. "Now we begin to see some of the consequences. For example, if the long-term trend continues, all fish and seafood species are projected to collapse within my lifetime -- by 2048." Worm is an assistant professor of marine conservation biology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Alaska: Humanitarian Missions in Remote Alaskan Regions - The Coast Guard Cutter Storis arrived in the Aleutian Island village of Atka Friday carrying a chaplain, an Air Force dental officer and plans to assist the village with vital community needs.

This weekend, the crew of Storis began assisting the community with many tasks including repair of Atka's damaged tsunami warning system, repairing aids to navigation and digging a trench to lay new copper pipe and restore the water supply to a local home.  Coast Guard crew members also gave tours of the Storis to local school children, and conducted many other community services in town.  One of the most notable successes was the repair of Atka's only fire truck, which had become disabled with carburetor trouble and a broken water pump. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Asset Builder of the Month: Judge Trevor Stephens Judge Trevor Stephens is pictured with several of the students inducted into the Youth Court Bar Association on Nov. 17, 2006 Photo courtesy PATCHWorks

Ketchikan: Asset Builder of the Month: Judge Trevor Stephens - Here comes the Judge! Judge Trevor Stephens is being recognized as the PATCHWorks "Asset Builder" of the month. We are very pleased and grateful for all of his efforts to make Ketchikan a better place for kids.

During the past four years he has volunteered his valuable time to educate and prepare young people to take on the various important roles in Ketchikan Youth Court. Over these years, countless interested youth from 12 - 18 years of age have attended nine weeks of classes in preparation for induction into Ketchikan Youth Court. This training includes an investigation of the U.S. Constitution, various State laws, the importance of total confidentiality, and the necessity of passing a bar exam. When completed, these youth are prepared to act as judges, prosecuting and defense attorneys, and bailiffs in cases passed to them from Juvenile Probation and District Court. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Consumer: 'It's Always Christmas Time' for Credit Card Companies But Consumers Can Get Trapped by Abusive Fees and Practices - Just as the holiday season gets ready to kick into high gear, Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is warning shoppers about the increasing number of credit card traps that can trip up consumers and lead to spiraling debt. To help get out the message and mobilize support for reform, the group is releasing "It's Always Christmas Time (For VISA)," an animated satire that takes aim at abusive credit card fees and practices.

"You can find yourself buried in debt if you aren't careful to avoid the credit card gotchas," said Michelle Jun, Staff Attorney for Consumers Union. "Too many credit cards are designed to get you in debt and keep you there." - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Basic Rules Consolidation By Glen Thompson - Sunday PM Consolidation By Al Johnson - Sunday PM Clear the Air, then Solve Pension Crisis By Sen. Bert Stedman & Sen. Lyda Green - Sunday PM Sharing the land By Craig Moen - Sunday PM Cherished Beaches Threatened By Ardath Piston - Friday RE: Deception, deviousness and consolidation By Bill Thomas Sr. - Friday Re: Alaskans investing in Alaska By Rudy McGillvray - Friday A quick question for the Consolidation Commission... By Gavin Piercy - Friday Airport Parking Lot By David Zenge - Friday Airport By Rob Glenn - Friday Consolidation is bad for Ketchikan. Please vote no. By Rodney Dial - Friday Can Democrats tackle Social Security? By Mary J. McLaughlin - Friday Not Your Land By Don Hoff Jr. - Friday Level the field of freebies By Nevin Appel - Friday "Adaptation of the fittest" By Valerie Cooper - Friday Airport lot parking fee By Ty Walker - Wednesday Re: Deviousness, deception and consolidation By Debby Otte - Wednesday Alaskans Investing in Alaska By Jerilyn Lester - Wednesday Our land By Rick Watson - Wednesday Re: Consolidation Voter Fraud By Ken Bylund - Wednesday Happy Living In Ketchikan By Mike Graham - Wednesday It is time for Alaskans to invest in Alaska's future. By Patrick Jirschele - Monday Let's make a Deal By Rodney Dial - Monday Deviousness, deception and consolidation By Bill Thomas Sr. - Monday It's about money and control. By Myrna Gardner - Monday All-volunteer 'Greatest Generation' By Sen. Ted Stevens - Monday Re: This Can Not Be Happening By Robin Anderson - Monday Here's a New Idea By Marie Monyak - Monday Open Letter to the President By Mike Jones - Monday RE: Ketchikan's High Gas Prices By Floyd Crocker - Monday RE: The value of Sealaska stock is not monetary By Don Hoff Jr. - Monday We need a Governor for the people. Not a governor for the party! by Edward Brown - Monday Waiting an Hour in Traffic By Charlotte Tanner - Monday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Today's Forecast Satellite Today's Weather Images Marine Forecasts Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map CLASSIFIEDS Auto-post your ad in the proper category, or email your ad & photos to ads@sitnews.us  CLASSIFIEDS' CATEGORIES Announcements For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services SitNews Archives November 2006 Click on the date to read the stories published on that day. S M T W T F S       01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30     More Front Page Archives

Ann McFeatters: Giving thanks - The summer flowers are gone, the days are chilly, the war in Iraq rages on, the political bickering remains incessant. How are we to approach this Thanksgiving Day? How are we to be thankful?

I was struck the other day by two color photos on the front page of The Washington Post. One was of the coffin of a 22-year-old soldier from Alaska killed in Iraq being unloaded in preparation for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The other was of a young man of similar age waiting in line to buy a PlayStation 3.

The juxtaposition can be viewed as an observation on the unfairness of life, but it can also be seen as a sign of Americans' indomitability. Life goes on. We are always in search of the next best thing. We know that happiness is fleeting, but we grab it when we can. A source of happiness in the young soldier's brief life was a 4x4 truck; the military honored his family's request that a truck serve as his hearse. We must be thankful that there are so many who are so young who are so willing to serve. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

John Hall: Iraq: Cause or effect - The Iraq war is being addressed as the cause of the problem in the Arab and Muslim world. But perhaps it is not a cause but an effect of an Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has no visible hope for resolution at the moment.

That was a central message of Prime Minister Tony Blair's call for a broader strategy on Iraq last week. His recommendations were blown off by President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The speech deserved a lot better than that, not just because Blair has stayed with Bush on the deck of the Titanic but because you wonder if the stuff would have hit the iceberg if Blair had been at the helm.

Both Bush and Blair are lame ducks, since Blair - under pressure from his cabinet - has already announced he will quit within the year to give his designated successor, Gordon Brown, a running start. So his speech last week and his teleconference with the Baker-Hamilton study group on Iraq took the form of a last hurrah. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Dale McFeatters: Ready. Get set. Shop! - After Thanksgiving comes Black Friday, so described not out of some sense of gloom or despondency but because that's when the ink on retailers' ledgers goes from red to black as shoppers hit the stores prepared to spend an estimated $457 billion between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

And this year the retailers are gracing us with Cyber Monday, the ceremonial start to the online shopping season, according to the National Retail Federation. No need any longer to let earning a living interfere with your holiday shopping experience because, says the NFE, online retailers are targeting "at-work shoppers," a development sure to make the bosses happy. Online holiday season sales were more than $27 billion last year, not a market the retailers are going to ignore.

For all the merriment, both real and manufactured, the holiday season is deadly serious business for retailers. Holiday shopping accounts for almost 20 percent of annual sales. For some specialties, jewelers and bookstores in particular, their sales are double or more in that period. Even when there's no product immediately involved, sales are good. Almost $25 billion will be spent on gift certificates this year, up $6 billion over last season. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006

Rob Holston: Vehicular Homicide - The state of Alaska issues drivers licenses to those who qualify to drive on state road systems. The state of Alaska issues licenses for vehicles to be driven upon the road systems of Alaska. Our state has enacted laws to protect people from each other in the form of traffic laws, of course, but also in "click-it-or-ticket" laws and child restraint laws. It is now time for our state to enact a law to protect all children within vehicles upon public and private properties within the borders of our state from the toxins of second hand smoke. It is time to enact a law that prohibits smoking in any vehicle where there are children present and recognizing such practice as a form of child abuse.

Besides the suggestion of this law being inflammatory and inspiring red-necked smokers throughout the state to clamor to their soap boxes and expound upon their rights to smoke in their own vehicles, I pray our lawmakers would decide in favor of the children of this state. Violators of this statute should pay a hefty fine, let's say equal to the amount they probably spend on their precious smokes over a year's time. That would be, in round figures, say $2,000. Maybe half of this amount should be contributed to the college fund of the children who suffer as victims of this crime. Some smokers may even be convinced to quit smoking entirely because of this law. If both man & wife smoke to the tune of $4,000 per year, over the course of raising a couple of kids, say 20 years by not smoking, that would be a savings for the family of $80,000. That's the second way that smokers victimize their children, by depleting the family budget for their own nicotine enhanced pleasures. But, I digress. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 21, 2006