Alaska: Alaska Air Cargo Announces Update for Security Screening of Seafood - Alaska Air Cargo announced Tuesday it has implemented procedural changes to meet Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirements for the screening of seafood.

The following changes to seafood shipments will go into effect on Feb. 15, 2010, for freight that is not pre-screened by shippers in the TSA's Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP):

• Tender times will increase to four hours prior to departure for all flights to allow additional screening time;
• Security screening surcharges will increase to $0.04 a pound and will be subject to a $2 minimum charge per shipment; and
• Seafood boxes requiring security screening must be free from exterior moisture to ensure accurate testing. Wet boxes and containers that have not been pre-screened may be rejected.

Seafood shippers already certified in CCSP will be exempt from the security screening surcharge for pre-screened shipments. In addition, the tender time for CCSP-certified shipments will remain two hours prior to departure. The tender time of four hours prior to departure for freighter shipments also will
remain the same.

"We strongly encourage all seafood shippers to consider joining the TSA's Certified Cargo Screening Program," said Joe Sprague, Alaska Air Cargo's vice president. "Receiving certified pre-screened freight is the best way to ensure the most efficient and highest quality shipment of seafood products to market." - More...
Wednesday AM - February 03, 2010

Alaska: Voter Registration Records Under Review - The Alaska State Division of Elections began its annual review in January of voter registration records to inactivate the records of voters who have not voted or had contact with the division in the previous four years.

Under State law, the division must send two notices to voters prior to inactivating their record. The division has recently mailed the second and final notice to 11,888 voters. Voters who do not respond to this notice by March 4, 2010 will be inactivated and their names will not appear on the list of names used at the polling place.

Voters whose registration records have been inactivated due to list maintenance may still vote using a questioned ballot. If they vote at any time within four years after being inactivated their ballot will count. Voting a questioned ballot will also activate and update their voter registration record. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 03, 2010

Alaska Science: Alaska's largest glacier surging again By NED ROZELL - "What in the world is Bering doing?" a woman said when she looked at Chris Larsen's photograph of the buckled back of Alaska's largest glacier.

"The cracking-up is new on the glacier," Larsen said. "There's a lot more crevasses, and a lot more elevation increases where there should be thinning."

The 2,000-square mile mass of Bering Glacier appears to be surging, Larsen told Geophysicist Jeanne Sauber of Goddard Space Flight Facility, who was looking at his poster in mid-December 2009, at the San Francisco meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

Larsen and colleagues discovered the surge-the sudden advance of part of the glacier-by checking the results of elevation-determining flights over the glacier in August and early September 2009.

"Where Bering takes a left out of the mountains, it's about 100 meters higher than it was in August 2008," said Larsen, who works at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute.

When a glacier like Bering or Black Rapids surges, it's usually not growing. Instead, a section has suddenly started moving, in this case a large portion upstream of where Bering calves icebergs into Vitus Lake, in the glorious country between Yakutat and Cordova.

"It's like a slow-motion landslide," Larsen said of the surge. "It's taking material at one end and putting it in another . . . Some areas are quite crevassed, some not." - More...
Wednesday AM - February 03, 2010

Alaska: Crews Scheduled to Drill for Geothermal Power in Akutan This Summer - The City of Akutan is in for a hot summer. Preparations are underway for drilling exploratory geothermal wells in Hot Springs Bay Valley on Akutan Island, just three miles from Akutan Village. Extensive prospecting, including soil and chemical testing, remote sensing using satellite imagery, and magneto-telluric measurement of electric currents in the earth using more than 50 ground probes, was completed in October 2009. Now the project technical team, led by Dr. Amanda Kolker, has identified four high-priority sites for test well drilling this summer.

Under ideal conditions, four "slim hole" wells (approximately 3 inches in diameter) can be drilled between June and October - one to a depth of 3,500 feet and three to a depth of 1,500 feet. However, much work remains to be done before the drilling team can go into action. State permits need to be obtained, and procurement of transportation, drilling services and material must be completed. In addition, drilling pads and work camp sites need to be prepared. According to Ray Mann of RMA Consulting Group, the City's Program Manager, everything is on track for a 2010 drilling program.

"The entire project team and everyone at the City are excited about this critical phase of the project," Mann said. "We need the results of test well drilling to complete the project feasibility study and business plan for full development. Right now, schedule is everything." - More...
Wednesday AM - February 03, 2010

Technology: Injuries evolve along with new gadgets By ERIN ALLDAY - Smart phones and laptops, handheld video games and MP3 players, and now, perhaps, Apple's new iPad -- the latest technology is great, but it is also a literal pain in the neck, doctors say.

And not just the neck, either. All these newfangled gadgets also are hurting our backs, shoulders, arms and hands. The kids are suffering from "text thumb" and their parents are getting "BlackBerry neck."

"I have a lot of patients who come in and say my mom is 80 years old, I'm 50, and I've got more pain than her," said Dr. Srinivas Ganesh, a sports-medicine specialist with Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, Calif. "But we have a much more sedentary lifestyle, and much more computer interfacing with laptops and PDAs and cell phones. We see a lot of poor posturing, a lot of stress on the wrists."

Strains and pains caused by modern technology are hardly new -- workplace ergonomics is a multimillion-dollar industry -- and pretty much anyone who's ever typed on a computer keyboard knows all about carpal tunnel syndrome.

But orthopedists and others who specialize in muscle and joint injuries say there's no question that the surge of handheld technology is leading to a new wave of aches and pains. Doctors say they struggle now to keep up with the latest equipment and what it might mean for their patients. Apple's new iPad, for example, has caught the attention of doctors who wonder what new complaints they'll hear. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 03, 2010

Home: They're stuck on duct tape By DEBBIE ARRINGTON - We live in a duct-tape world.

Nobody knows that better than the Duct-Tape Guys, Tim Nyberg and Jim Berg.

"It's the ultimate power tool," Nyberg says. "We know; we're duct-tape evangelists."

They're stuck on their favorite subject. The team of brothers-in-law has written seven books (and 15 years' worth of page-a-day calendars) about the ubiquitous tape.

"It's got thousands of uses, including some pretty incredible stuff, but who's counting?" Nyberg says. "It's limitless what you can do."

Their motto: "It's not broke; it just needs duct tape."

It's a perfect philosophy for penny-pinching times, adds Nyberg, which helps explain why they've sold more than 3 million copies of their books and calendars.

"It's a budget stretcher on a roll -- and an HMO, too," Nyberg says. "Duct tape is great for wart removal, setting bones and emergency sutures."

Nyberg, 56, and Berg, 46, tape just about everything, from head to toe. They've created entire wardrobes out of duct tape. ("That jacket is really hot," Nyberg admits about his home-show duds, "but it is mostly plastic; duct tape doesn't breathe.")

Their work inspired Duck brand's "Stuck at Prom" contest -- students make whole tuxedoes and dresses out of tape -- and thousands of Halloween costumes.

Thanks to such inventive uses, duct tape now comes in a wide world of plastic-coated colors. For example, Duck brand offers 20 colors, including -- new for 2010 -- tie-dye purple-pink. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 03, 2010

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SOUTH EAST ALASKA NATIVE LAND ENTITLEMENT FINALIZATION ACT By Hans Porter - Bill S. 881 "SOUTH EAST ALASKA NATIVE LAND ENTITLEMENT FINALIZATION ACT" will lay waste to one of the most beautiful places on this planet. The old growth forest with its amazing canopy will be destroyed. The miles and miles of karst formation will not be open to the public. Subsistence resources for several communities will disappear. We will not be able to travel by road. Our water supplies will be in danger or ruined. All this for the short term revenues which will benefit no one but Sealaska Corporation, will not create jobs, and will not provide sustainable resources. It will be all damage and destruction as is typical of this corporation's way of doing business. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 03, 2010

Let's get inspired! By Linda Koons Auger - My husband, Bill and I attended the "Throw The Breaker" celebration for the completion of the Swan Lake-Lake Tyee Intertie project.  I came away inspired!  This project was many, many years in the making with support and hard work by many fine Alaskans along the way. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 02, 2010

Challenge Day By Karen Eakes - I would like to urge all parents of high school students to sign their students up for the Challenge Day events happening here in Ketchikan on February 16th or 17th at Ketchikan High School. Schoenbar's Challenge Day occurs on February 18th and that event already has a full slate of student participants. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 02, 2010

Southeast Alaska community fights for their survival By Myla Poelstra - Senator Murkowski's recent interview on KRBD discussing Sealaska's current lands bill was both encouraging and disheartening at the same time. While it is encouraging to hear her talk about holding a field hearing on Prince of Wales to discuss concerns over impacts from S.881 Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization act, it's disheartening to hear her only reference the City of Craig. The residents of Edna Bay, on the southeast end of Kosciusko Island, have been relentlessly trying to get her attention for almost seven years. Over 1200 letters have been sent to our representatives letting them know why we objected to this bill, and what these public lands meant to us. To this date there has been no direct response to our concerns from Senator Murkowski or Sealaska. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 02, 2010

HEAD TAX By Charles Edwardson - This is a subject that has interested me for awhile. Who ever coined the phrase"HEAD TAX" (sounds like a hunting trip) should have called it what it is, a port and harbor tax. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 02, 2010

Thanks By Russell Thomas - Thanks to Dave, Danny, & Sara Lieben who spent last Saturday with trash bags in hand, cleaning up the neighborhood around Forest Park. The Lieben's community service reminded me of our ability to affect a small piece of the world around us. Not content to let it be someone else's problem, Dave spent his personal time making "everyone else's problem" his own. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 02, 2010

Rental Fees - Ted Ferry - Meeting Notes By Bobbie McCreary - Mr. Holston, in a letter dated 12/23 I explained that we were inspired by Mr. Gadsey's decision NOT to request the waiver of rental fees for the Ted Ferry Civic Center for the SAIL event on January 15th. Thus motivated, the organizers of the Enough is Enough event asked for donations from the public to pay the costs in order to support keeping City employees' jobs by not asking for a waiver of fees. (We collected $300- thank you - enough to cover the original cost before we opened the third bay due to the large crowd who participated.) - More...
Tuesday AM - February 02, 2010

Senator Begich Sold Out the People By Chris Herby - I think it is imperative that Alaska voters remember the recent actions of Mark Begich if and when he seeks re-election to the US Senate. Mr. Begich clearly sold out on the people that elected him when he chose to follow the rest of the Democratic sheep in Washington in voting for the infamous Health Care bill. During his campaign he said time and time again that he would not simply vote along with the other tax and spend Democrats in Washington. We now know how good his promises are. - More...
Thursday PM - January 28, 2010

"City to investigate recovery clinic" By Joey Tillson - I'm writing in reference to Juneau Empire's January 7th, 2010 article "City to investigate recovery clinic". I worked for Bartlett Hospital Rainforest Recovery (previously Juneau Recovery Hospital) as their receptionist in 2002 and then Insurance Verification, Medical Biller, Financial Counselor in 2003 until the middle of 2005 so I have some knowledge as to what the facility has gone through, including a name change in the hopes of keeping the facility afloat for Southeast Alaska. Bartlett Hospital and the Rainforest Recovery Center inspired me to get my degree in Health Care Administration. - More...
Thursday PM - January 28, 2010

Haiti, a Lesson for All of Us By Michael Spence - For a few brief moments, the American people had their attention diverted to the utter chaos and suffering in Haiti following a devastating earthquake. Before the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Now it is even poorer. Most scholars agree that the problems with delivering aid to Haiti, and the slim chance of a healthy recovery from this latest disaster, can be blamed on bad governance . In the case of Haiti, bad governance is a simplified term, generalizing its long history of dictatorships, corrupt politicians, and oligarchic control of the nation that concentrates fifty percent of its wealth to one percent of its population. - More...
Thursday PM - January 28, 2010

Open letter to Senator Bingaman: Sealaska Bill By Alan Stein - I submitted testimony for the record when the committee you chair heard the bill Senators Murkowski and Begich introduced re handing over Federal Land on Prince of Wales Island to Sealaska Corp, a private interest. - More...
Thursday PM - January 28, 2010

Concerned Citizen By Terri Anderson - Wow, I read your letter and you definately have some pent up anger. There are counselors out there that will help you. You should be careful with the word ignorant. - More...
Thursday PM - January 28, 2010

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