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Monday
December 15, 2014
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Male Hooded Merganser
Photographed at the Frog Pond in the Ward Lake area on Sunday.
Front Page Photograph By JIM LEWIS ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: Laying of the Keels Ceremony Marks Beginning of First Ferries to Be Constructed in Alaska - An historic Laying of the Keels ceremony launching the beginning of the construction of the first ferries to be built in Alaska was held at the Ketchikan Shipyard Saturday afternoon. The event was hosted by Vigor Alaska, Governor Bill Walker, First Lady Donna Walker and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
At the podium is Doug Ward, Vigor Alaska's Director of Shipyard Development; seated are Alaska Governor Bill Walker and First Lady Donna Walker.
Photo courtesy Gov. Bill Walker
Keel laying ceremonies signal the commencement of a ship’s construction. Laying two keels simultaneously is unique in itself, but building two new ferries for the State of Alaska in the State of Alaska for the very first time is the realization of a shared goal to keep state spending and jobs in the state.
The new First Lady Donna Walker was present as Sponsor of the two new Day Boat – Alaska Class Ferries. During the event First Lady Donna Walker welded her initials for the keel of the boat, a tradition that identifies her as a sponsor of a boat.
Delivery of both ferries is expected by October 2018. The project is projected to support between 80 to 90 new shipbuilding jobs in Ketchikan in addition to the 160 jobs reported at the end of 2013.
In 2010, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell directed the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) to de-federalize the Alaska Class Ferry project and authorized state funding to enable construction of the new ferries in Alaska. In September of 2014, a contract was awarded to Vigor Alaska to build the ferries.
The Day Boat Alaska Class Ferries will be owned and operated by the state of Alaska. The vessels will be classed for Ferry Service by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and will hold a valid United States Coast Guard (USCG) Certificate of Inspection. The vessels will carry passengers and vehicles among the various communities of Southeast Alaska. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
Fish Factor: Discharge exemption for Alaska Commercial Fishing Vessels By LAINE WELCH - It went down to the wire, but fishermen were relieved to learn they can continue to hose down their decks without fear of violating the Clean Water Act.
Congress voted unanimously last week to extend a moratorium for three years that exempts commercial fishing vessels 79 feet and under from needing incidental discharge permits from the Environmental Protection Agency for deck wash. The current moratorium, which affects 8,500 Alaska vessels, was set to expire on Dec.18.
The regulation is aimed at preventing fuels, toxins or hazardous wastes from entering the water. That makes sense, said Senator Lisa Murkowski, but needing permits for hosing down a boat is going overboard – especially when recreational boats, even 300 foot yachts, are exempt from the rule.
“We want to abide by environmental regulations that make sense,” Murkowski said in a phone call from DC. “But I don’t think any of us believe it should be a requirement for a fishermen who has had a good day out on the water and they are cleaning up the boat and hosing slime and maybe some fish guts off the deck and that then becomes a reportable discharge to the EPA.”
“What are you supposed to do – direct it all into a bucket and keep it in the fish hold and take it to shore to dump it? Let’s use some common sense here,” Murkowski added, saying she will continue to push for a permanent fix. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2015 |
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Ketchikan: Ketchikan #1 in the 10 Best Places to Open a Small Business in U.S. - With a score of 29.50, Ketchikan is rated as the number one best place to start a small business in the nation, according to Talent Tribune.
Talent Tribune, a data-driven blog providing information, analysis and expert advice on today’s workforce and workplace culture, looked at the places around the nation where small business is thriving. Using U.S. Census data, Talent Tribune ranked the 10 best places (towns and cities) in America for small businesses. Making the top 10 list are the places with positive small business hiring trends, positive small establishment numbers growth, and with high concentrations of fellow small businesses.
Talent Tribune found that Ketchikan has steadily grown both small business employees (10%) and small business establishments (3%) and Ketchikan is poised to keep expanding its offerings. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
Alaska: State budget challenge faces Alaska's new Governor - Newly elected Governor Bill Walker and Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott are beginning their terms with a state budget challenge of an unprecedented magnitude and is asking Alaskans for help.
“I’m confident that together, we Alaskans can manage our way through it,” Governor Walker said. “We need to develop a smart plan so that our children and grandchildren can have stability 30 years from now. My team and I have rolled up our sleeves to work on the budget in almost daily meetings. We want a plan in place that will not just get us over the hump now, but provide a strong future for decades to come.”
The Walker administration at 1 p.m. today submitted the previous Parnell administration’s work-in-progress operating budget without endorsement. The Walker administration did, however, strip down the capital budget to $106 million, which only includes line items that have federal or other match-funding, as well as the legally obligated Kivalina School planning funds.
Governor Walker’s team will spend the next few weeks reviewing all capital projects and operating budget before submitting its final revisions no later than February 18. The budget dialogues will include legislators, community leaders and constituent groups.
“Any growth from that $106 million capital budget will be done with the utmost scrutiny, and with an eye toward items that reduce future obligations,” said Pat Pitney, Director of Office of Management and Budget. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014 |
Ketchikan: Annual Christmas Bird Counts Scheduled - From Ketchikan to Nome, every year Alaskans bundle up and gather together to celebrate the holiday season by braving the elements for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Alaskans are creative about transportation, last year using ten forms of transportation, including cross-country skis, dog sled, kayak, and fat-tire bike.
This Cedar Waxwing photographed in Ketchikan on December 14, 2014. This was an unexpected sighting as the Cedar Waxwing has usually left the Ketchikan area by this time of the year.
Photograph by JIM LEWIS ©2014
Groups of volunteers select a day between December 14, 2014 and January 5, 2015 to conduct a count. This year, Glacier Bay (Gustavus) and Juneau held their counts on December 14, since the first day of the count window fell on a Sunday.
Ketchikan, Craig-Klawock, Petersburg and Skagway will hold their bird counts on December 20th.
Volunteers have 24 hours to record as many birds as possible within a 15-mile diameter circle. There are Christmas Bird Counts in all 50 states, in all Canadian provinces, several Central and South American countries, and several Pacific and Caribbean islands. Last year there were 37 counts held across Alaska. Many counts end with a social gathering to tally lists and crow over the best birds.
First organized in the Lower 48 and eastern Canada with just 27 birdwatchers in 1900, this season marks the 115th Christmas Bird Count. In Alaska, volunteers have carried out Christmas Bird Counts since before statehood, with the first counts in 1941.
“The Christmas Bird Count is a great way for volunteers of all ages, from kids to grandparents, to participate together in one of the longest running citizen-science projects in the world,” said Nils Warnock, Executive Director of Audubon Alaska. “With more than a century of data nationwide and 70 years in Alaska, this is a powerful tool that helps scientists look for changes in Alaska’s bird populations and ranges.” - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
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Columns - Commentary
DAVE KIFFER: Are Alaskans really driving each other crazy? - There's been a bit of chatter on SITNEWS recently regarding parking and driving in Our Fair Salmon City.
I will not enter the fray about parking except to note that I have seen a recent rise in people "splitting" parking spaces, particularly at the larger lots. I would like to think that it's just carelessness, but I suspect something more intentional is involved.
More often than not, the "splitters" who seem to park in two separate spaces at once seem to own fairly spiffy cars and trucks. I would guess they are taking up two spaces in order to lessen the likelihood that someone else will open a car door and bump or scratch "their baby."
That is a concern, but really how long do vehicles stay pristine in our Stubbed Toe of the Woods?
I've had my current car about eight years and I consider it relatively unscathed because it only has a "few" scrapes and dings. My wife's car is more than 20 years old and it has a "few" more. We consider them badges of honor given the driving "issues" we all face. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
JEFF LUND: The out of shape baller - Basketball has always been my favorite sport. I played it in high school, covered it in college, then coached it for a decade.
My career as a player is way over and has been since we lost in the regional tournament (in Kayhi’s gym) a long time ago. I’ve since accepted the unavoidable truth I’m not what I was, and what I was, wasn’t all that special. That became evident my freshman year at the University of Arizona when the best my buddies and I could muster was good, for the middle intramural league.
I’m a once or twice a week guy now and I’m fine with that. City League (or Adult League, Men’s League, Can’t-Let-It-Go-League, whatever you want to call it) is purely for recreation so it’s been easy for me to stay competitive, but maintain perspective.
It’s one of those things you have to come to terms with then decide how serious you want to take it going forward. You should take it serious because you are on a team and it’s understood that the point is to compete. However, the point is to have fun while competing and hopefully staying out of foul trouble. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
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POLITICAL CARTOON: Native American Pot
By
Milt Priggee, Kitsap Sun
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
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Viewpoints
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Sitnews reserves the right to edit.
 RE: Eighty-sixth By Matthew Felling - Greetings, Alaskans – I’d like to set the record straight on a recent letter published in SitNews on behalf of Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office. - More...
Tuesday PM - December 16, 2014
Parking - One More Thing By Chris Elliott - I ran into a young man at the grocery store parking lot the other day (not literally) after I had squiggeled around getting into a parking spot. He mentioned the web page. He was most upset because the postings were anonymous. If someone was anonymously posting nude pictures of his wife, I could see his point. He might want to have a talk with the person. But posting pictures of bad parking is a horse of a different color. In the common law, "res ipsa loquitur" (the thing itself speaks). - More...
Tuesday PM - December 16, 2014
Clear-cutting of the Tongass By Dominic Salvato - Why does the Sealaska Corporation mislead the public by inferring its shareholders are solely Alaska's native people? There are hundreds, if not thousands of Sealaska shareholders without one drop of native blood in their bodies. It's not wrong, it's a simple fact. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
Eighty-sixed By A. M. Johnson - I find that your fine online news outlet must be employed to transmit a message to our Alaska Congressional Senator, Senator Murkowski. As the subject line reflects, her office, if not herself, has terminated my access to her office via email. The following is my response and that termination notice. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
Share the road By Michael McColley- I've driven on every street in town. I have lived here all my life and traffic gets congested all the time. For those that pull half way out in traffic, try using the center lane. Don't challenge other cars to brake. Let people out. No one is going to lose sleep, we only have so much road. No one needs to have road rage. No one is going to get there any faster by driving fast or by being a discourteous driver. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
Hollowing Our Military By Donald A. Moskowitz - I have previously written about the disastrous impact of "sequestration" on our armed forces. Douglas Wissing delves into this topic in his article "RIF Tide" in the December 2014 issue of The American Legion Magazine, which I partially paraphrase in the next paragraph. - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
States Are Waking Up -- They Can Stop Our Federal Government Overreach By Arthur Bedford - Executive amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, 3500 new business crushing regulations, the feds attempting to regulate our local police departments—all within the last two weeks! State governments are waking up to the fact that they have the power to stop this federal overreach, regain state sovereignty, and bring power back to the people through use of a tool our Constitutional Framers gave them for just this situation, an Article V Convention of States (COS). Recently, Conservative talk radio host Mark Levin, a vocal supporter of a Convention of states, addressed the annual conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an association of state lawmakers. He demanded that the hundreds of lawmakers in attendance “take your power back.” - More...
Monday PM - December 15, 2014
Timber Economics By Owen Graham - Let's talk about real timber economics. For years we have been listening to various environmental groups and others talk about Tongass timber sale subsidies. The reality is there are none; no matter how many times the falsehood is repeated. If the federal government provides billions in wind production tax credits; that's a subsidy. When corn farmers and ethanol producers receive billions in tax credits and have their products supported with an ethanol gas mandate; that's also a subsidy. However, if a local lumber yard or an appliance store spends more money selling lumber or appliances than it receives, that does not mean their customers are subsidized; it just means that the lumber yard or appliance store will soon go broke. Likewise, the timber industry is not subsidized when it purchases timber from the Forest Service. The industry is not responsible for, nor can it control how much a federal agency spends. - More...
Monday PM - December 08, 2014
The Missing Christmas Deer By Ted Cabot - Let me start by saying I am writing this letter for my wife. Every year she waits patiently for the Holidays, especially Christmas, her absolute favorite. In our house, she without question is in charge of decorating the outside of our home, she does the inside as well, but her real joy is doing the outside. We live on lower Fairy Chasm Rd. so I'm sure there are many of you who know which house it is. She enjoys many, many compliments from the good people of Ketchikan every year, so you can see what motivates her to decorate the way she does. And yes, the house looks great every Christmas. She does try to do different things each year. And always does a great job. - More...
Monday PM - December 08, 2014
Nut Cracker Performance By A. M. Johnson - The performance of the Nut-Cracker this year is one for the record books. The performance of the children and young adults in learning the parts, learning their marks, and presentation in tune with the music score was absolutely outstanding. There was not a glitch, nor a miss in the timing, The set design was superb reflecting long backstage hours in preparation. To see the continued depth of adult thespians in accompanying roles in this production reflects the continued outstanding level of talent viewed in First City Player productions. - More...
Monday PM - December 08, 2014
Joy to the World By Judith Green - This past week end the Ketchikan Community Chorus, under the direction of Stephen Kinney, shared their music and talents with "The Songs of the People-around the world" as the title "Joy to the World" would suggest: Israeli, Serbian, American, French, Ukraine, Africa. - More...
Monday PM - December 08, 2014
Parking Failures By Chris Elliott - Donita O'Dell's letter prompts this response. Lighten up! If someone is having a heart attack & you park outside the lines at PeaceHealth, I don't think your photo's going to show up. If you park your little tiny Prius in the cart return lane, you deserve a little attention. If you're a jerk and you park like a jerk then you're going to respond to this "shaming" like a jerk. If you're a normal person who, for one reason or another, misparked your car, you're going to take it like a normal person and chuckle at being "outed." - More...
Monday PM - December 08, 2014
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