Tazlina
The forward half or bow of the Alaska Class Ferry Tazlina moved out of the assembly hall at the Vigor Alaska shipyard in Ketchikan on Suday, Nov. 20th. The Tazlina is the first of two Alaska Class ferry to be built at the shipyard, the second ferry named the Hubbard will be next.
Front Page Feature Photo By STEVEN SPEIGHTS ©2016

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Alaska: Gwich'in to Congress: Designate the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain as Wilderness - For hundreds of generations, the Gwich’in people of Alaska and northern Canada have depended on the caribou that migrate through the Arctic Refuge. With their traditional culture now threatened by oil extraction and climate change, two Gwich’in women are continuing a decades-long fight to protect their land and future.

Young members of the Gwich’in Nation prepare for a traditional dance ceremony at the 14th Gwich’in Gathering in Arctic Village, Alaska.
Photo by Kahlil Hudson

The Gwich’in people have lived in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge region spanning from Alaska to Canada for hundreds of generations. The word “Gwich’in” means “people of the land,” and their lives and culture have become inseparable from the fate of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. The Gwich’in people and rely on caribou as their chief food source, as well as for clothing, tools and ornaments, and as a central fixture of their culture.

The 1.2-million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge is the calving grounds of the 169,000-member Porcupine caribou herd, which has sustained the?Gwich’in people of Alaska and northern Canada for hundreds of generations. The Gwich'in people of Alaska and Northern Canada have fought for three decades to protect the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling and other threats.

Supporting the efforts of the Gwich'in people of Alaska and Northern Canada on Monday outdoor apparel company Patagonia and non-profit conservation group Alaska Wilderness League released The Refuge, a 15-minute film telling the story of two Gwich'in women who are fighting for their ancestral home and the survival of the wild animals that bring them life. In conjunction with the film, Patagonia has partnered with Care2, the world's largest social media site for good, to launch a Care2 petition asking Congress to pledge to protect the Refuge's Coastal Plain as wilderness.

"Patagonia has supported the Gwich'in Steering Committee and Alaska Wilderness League through our Environmental Grants Program since the early 2000s," notes Rose Marcario, Patagonia's Chief Executive Officer. "We stand in solidarity with the Gwich'in community today to ask Congress to designate the Coastal Plain as wilderness and protect the Gwich'in way of life forever."

To the Gwich'in, the Refuge's pristine Coastal Plain where caribou calve their young is "the Sacred Place Where Life Begins." The coastal plain, although a true national treasure, lacks protection as wilderness and has become a target for drilling by the oil industry and its allies. It's now under more threat than ever – with pro-oil forces stating they will work quickly to push for drilling in the Refuge. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 29, 2016

Southeast Alaska: Schaible endowment will enrich UAS student learning - Former Alaska Attorney General Grace Schaible’s gift to the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) from 25 years ago just keeps on giving. In 1989, Schaible donated her Juneau home -- located along the Mendenhall River -- to the university. For years it has provided housing for visiting scholars and researchers.

Grace Schaible
Photo by Todd Paris

Following consultation with Schaible, UAS recently sold the property and created a new endowment in her name. The Grace Schaible Endowment, with a fund balance of just over $437,000, will support visiting faculty, scholars, researchers, artists, and Native elders who enrich UAS student learning and academic success. The original fund agreement included a clause regarding sale of the house, which specified that the proceeds be placed into an endowed fund -- its earnings to be used in support of UAS. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 29, 2016

Ketchikan: Upcoming Performances - The annual Sam Pitcher Memorial Scholarship Concert and the Ketchikan Community Concert Band both have performance events scheduled for this week.

The annual Sam Pitcher Memorial Scholarship Concert will take place on Wednesday, November 30th at 7 PM in the Ketchikan High School Auditorium and will feature Windjammers, Schoenbar Jazz Band, Scattered Sunshine Trombone Choir and the Kayhi Jazz Band. Kayhi will perform “Mack the Knife”, Lennon/McCartney’s “Yesterday”, “Stray Cat Strut”, and “Blue Mambo”.

The Scattered Sunshine Trombone Choir, with special guests Judi Green on piano and Kim Kleinschmidt on drums, will present “Eli’s Comin’”, Morten Lauridsen’s “Dirait-on” and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”. Next, the Schoenbar Jazz Band directed by Jamie Karlson will play “Zoot Suit Riot”, “Caravan”, and “Final Countdown”. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 29, 2016

Columns - Commentary

Besides their recount temper tantrum, Republican Electoral College members across the U.S. report harassment and threats from disgruntled Clinton supporters in a last-ditch effort to put their candidate who should be in the big house in the White House.

The Detroit News reports Michigan electors received "intimidating emails or messages" demanding members vote for Clinton and ditch Trump. The report says one young Michigan elector, Mike Banerian, received a message "containing a death wish" and another, "a death threat" in which someone threatened they'd "put a bullet" in his mouth. Banerian said he's been called "a hateful bigot" and said, "people talk about shoving a gun in my mouth and blowing my brains out" -- if he abides by Michigan law requiring electors to vote for Trump.

Democrat leadership would be wise to detach itself from these whack jobs because the party will continue to implode unless they eradicate the despotic progressivism which currently rules within the ranks.

These despotic dimwits don't give a whit that America's founders created the Electoral College to prevent the kind of mob rule democracy that Alexis de Tocqueville once called "the tyranny of the majority" ---- which will happen if a few big cities and states always control the outcome.

Given all the talk about ditching the Electoral College, fair representation is the last thing on the minds of those who didn't mind it at all when polls predicted a Hillary electoral landslide. Truth is, if they really cared about fairness, they'd ditch the Super Delegates system which was rigged for Hillary when it robbed Bernie Sanders early on.

Protest, petition and recount all they wish, but eliminating the Electoral College won't happen. There isn't a rural state out there foolish enough to relinquish the power the nation's founders gave it. Besides, it would take nothing short of a miracle for the Senate and states to ratify. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 29, 2016