Alaska: House Republicans Repeal Citizen Initiative; GOP bill would discharge cruiseship sewage in Alaska waters - Today House Republicans passed Gov. Parnell’s bill to allow discharge of sewage and untreated wastewater in Alaska waters, repealing a provision of the 2006 citizen initiative that protected Alaskans’ health and state fisheries. Alaska Democrats aren't pleased and say Parnell’s bill would allow the release of approximately 1,064,448,000 gallons of sewage and wastewater into Alaska state waters every year.

House Republicans rejected Democratic amendments which would have required disclosure of the location of sewage discharges and protected Alaska fisheries from sewage discharges.

“We want Outside tourists’ money, not their sewage.  Alaskans voted in 2006 to protect our waters and the salmon fisheries that depend on them.  It is outrageous that Republicans would repeal that citizen initiative on behalf of a few Outside interests,” said Mike Wenstrup, Chair of the Democratic Party.

In 2006, Alaskans voted to enact legislation that said cruise ships “may not discharge untreated sewage, treated sewage, graywater or other wastewaters in a manner that violates any applicable effluent limits or standards under state or federal law, including Alaska Water Quality Standards governing pollution at the point of discharge.”  On the House floor today, Rep. Les Gara (D) said, “The voters were right in passing a bill which protects the world’s greatest fishery.”  Parnell’s bill would repeal the last clause of this law so that dumping of sewage and wastewater in Alaska state waters would be considered adequate “treatment.” 

Southeast Alaska fisherman Joseph Sebastian said, “This bill … is a slap in the face of thousands of Alaska’s fishing families.”  A single cruise ship produces 210,000 gallons of sewage, over a million gallons of greywater, 130 gallons of hazardous wastes such as poisonous metals, and 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water in a single week-long cruise. There are 28 very large cruise ships which operate up to 150 days annually in Alaska.  Such large quantities of pollution are a threat to Alaska’s critical fisheries, which is why the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes urged the House to reject Parnell’s bill. On the House floor, Representative Kreiss-Thompkins noted that the fishing industry’s “concerns are not being heard” as the Republicans fast track this bill. - More...
Monday PM - February 04, 2013

Ketchikan: Open House Planned for Streets Improvement Project - The Alaska Department of Transportation is beginning a project to reconstruct a highly traveled segment of South Tongass Highway from Grant Street to Deermount Street - locally known as Front Street, Mill Street and Stedman Streets. This area is located in the central tourism area of downtown Ketchikan.

The project team will kick off its work with an open house public meeting in Ketchikan on Wednesday, February 6th, at the Ted Ferry Civic Center from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Project Manager is David B. Epstein of the Alaska Department of Transportation Southeast Region.

Viewpoints
Commentary
Opinions/Letters
Basic Rules &
Freedom of Speech

(Link Corrected) Commercial Drug Testing By Geord Kleinschmidt - It was interesting to read about the City's decision to enforce the testing of contractors and their crews who work on City of Ketchikan jobs. The City might want to consider the unintended consequences of such action because I believe the problem is more widespread than one might imagine. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

Lack of Funding for the School District By Dave Timmerman - OK everyone, this is a plea for the community of Ketchikan. Many of you know I am on Ketchikan School Board. Well as a concerned citizen and parent I felt the need to push some of my feelings out there in the form of a letter to the community. This letter is not intended as the position of the School Board and I am not representing them in any way. This is from Citizen Dave. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

The decline of our fish By Arthur Kennedy - Wow! 30 million dollars to study our king salmon? There's nothing to study. It might take years to study when only common sense is needed to apply. King salmon need food, they need the herring. Stop harvesting the herring for commercial use. At least rotate the fishing of herring yearly. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

RE: Assault on Democracy? By A.M. Johnson - Outstanding!! Well stated Gene Peterson. Please know that I will join with you and encourage others bcc'd including our elected officials to pursue tort law legislation that will require "Looser Pays" in legal challenge to legislation that affects the public affairs. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

Sherman Roger Alexander vs United States: From our point of view By Nahaan (Son of Sherman Roger Alexander) - This writing is to provide the court room and judge a chance to reconsider finding Sherman Roger Alexander guilty of anything but being Haida. This writing is to tell of the native individuals experience against a US government. This letter is to initiate a shift in the power structure of Alaska and surrounding landmasses from an unjust way of life, to return instead, to a life in harmony and balance with the land and its original inhabitants. This letter is to provide the native corporations with an opportunity to show support for its shareholders who have had to stand in court rooms, shareholders who went without letters of support from the very organizations said to represent the tribes and native individuals. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

Who's left with the bill? By Ed Plute - $20 million for a hospital Ketchikan does not own? Wake up. A 10 x15 break room, $300,000? - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

Life campaign By Rob Holston - "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of those who are doomed." - Proverbs 31:8.  Our local 40 Days For Life campaign begins Feb. 13.  It is a peaceful prayer vigil that is part of a national movement that has seen tremendous results.   - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

Fair Tax Act By Patrick R. Burkett - The Fair Tax Act proposes a tax on all new merchandise and services in place of all income taxes, payroll taxes, corporation taxes, and taxes on dividends, interest, and capital gains. Critics of the Act, which proposes a 23% inclusive tax, have confused the issue by saying that this law is in reality a 30% tax. To clear up this misinformation, consider the following explanation. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

Re: What's the problem? By Paul Jarvi - Mr. Hanger's response was predictable and the name calling on your part was anticipated. I disagree with your opinions in some but not all of your letters to Sitnews. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 05, 2013

The Loud Whistle By Donald Petrey - Has anyone heard the loud far off whistle when you drive past the Bailey power house? That is the sound of all OUR hard earned money literally going up in smoke, smoke stack that is. I am in the process of going before the Ketchikan city council and asking them to make some policy changes and allow ALL private citizens and businesses if we choose to, to generate part of our own power and supply it back into the KPU power grid. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

Assault on Democracy? By Gene Peterson - Thank you Sitnews for giving me the biggest laugh on the month. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

New Credit Card Surcharges by Retailers By Marvin Seibert - Recently In July 2012, a federal court in New York ruled that merchants can impose credit card surcharges unless states pass laws to prevent it. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

Degradation of Alaska’s clean water By Daven Hafey & James Sullivan - The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council does not support the governor’s proposal to allow the degradation of Alaska’s clean water. The Cruise Ship Wastewater Discharge Permits bill (SB 29 &HB 80) is a flawed piece of legislation that does not adequately address the issues of large passenger ship effluent discharge. Alaskans understand that the average cruise ship can discharge 800 cubic meters of partially treated effluent per day. That means potentially 634 million gallons per season. That is the equivalent of over 19,000,000 bathtubs worth of water with contaminants such as fecal coliform, ammonia, and dissolved metals like copper, zinc, and nickel dropped in the Inside Passage waters. There are numerous issues within this legislation that we find especially troubling. Here are some of the major ones: - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

100 Years of 16th Amendment By Wiley Brooks - February 3, 2013, another day of life in America! Many are excited about the Super Bowl.   Ironically, it's also a day to celebrate “The Super Tax!” Yes, the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 16th Amendment! - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

An American Idea By Glen E. Terrell - The FairTax is an idea whose time has come.  The congress, both House and Senate, republicans and democrats, has demonstrated time after time, the inability to restrain itself with the public purse.  The congress simply can’t govern effectively as long as the income tax is in place.  Even the “fiscal crises” legislation passed by the current congress added $74 billion MORE to the deficit; all to favor special interest groups.  In order to save America, congress must be denied the instrument of its folly; the income tax.  A solution has been filed away in a drawer somewhere by the congress for over 10 years.  It’s called The FairTax. It’s neither a republican nor democrat idea but truly an American idea! - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

RE: What's the Problem? By David G. Hanger - At no time have I ever initiated any kind of dispute with Paul Jarvi whatsoever. Paul Jarvi likes to insert himself into various subjects I present with personal insults to me, a “slay the messenger” tactic rather than dealing with the issues at hand. On Paul Jarvi’s part this is a persistent and chronic problem. What does anything the man put in his memo have to do with the issue of gasoline prices? Not a damned thing. Three sentences, three insults. - More...
Saturday AM - February 02, 2013

Heros of the Day By Dave Hull - Early Monday evening there was a car wreck near the north end of D-1 loop road. The roads were treacherous and someone ended up over an embankment and was trapped in their car. While emergency crews were attempting to get the driver out, two more accidents occurred in the same general area including a large truck that managed to take the bank on the opposite side of the road and stayed away from the crews working on the wrecked car. - More...
Thursday AM - January 31, 2013

Disregard for the Public Process By Daven Hafey - Public participation is the cornerstone of democracy.  We see it clearly expressed by our forefathers in their description of the ideal government: one that is ruled by the people, for the people.   Unfortunately, the democratic process is under direct threat in Alaska.  There has been a pattern of behavior in the Capitol Building recently, both by the Governor’s office and the Legislature, to whittle away at our revered democratic process. - More...
Thursday AM - January 31, 2013

What's the problem? By Paul Jarvi - Everytime I suggest Mr. Hanger may be wrong in his opinion he confronts me with unkind terms. What is your problem Mr. Hanger? - More...
Thursday AM - January 31, 2013

GASOLINE AGAIN By David G. Hanger - Regarding one's detractors, it is generally appropriate to consider the source, chuckle, and move on. But gas price gouging is a real problem right now, and it does deserve to be addressed right now. - More...
Monday PM - January 28, 2013

Fuel Prices By Linda Hansen- I like the idea also of the co-op for gasoline. I would join! I am tired of being taken advantage by our fuel prices in all areas, but it would be nice to take some kind of stand. If a person could figure out how to get the co-op going it would be nice, not only for gasoline, but for fuel for our homes, boats whatever the community needs are. - More...
Monday PM - January 28, 2013

CBS-SE TV Service By Sandra Rusin McCray - Personally Mr. Cushing, I find your letter unprofessional and plain nasty when you refer to CBS-SE as "going cheap" and "cheap and dirty" when referring to the CBS-SE Network. Personally, I expect more from a City run organization, and a City Employee, that I help fund with my taxpayer money. - More...
Monday PM - January 28, 2013

Ketchikan Humane Society By Heather Muench - The Ketchikan Humane Society would like to thank our community for your generous support for our programs in 2012. We are a 501(c)3 non- profit. All of our members are unpaid volunteers and one hundred percent of the money we raise goes to the animals we rescue. In addition to our rescue work, we sponsor low-cost spay and neuter clinics throughout the year in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted animals euthanized every year in the communities of Southern Southeast Alaska. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

Thank You From the Ketchikan Homless Shelter By Gary Boatwright on Behalf of the Ketchikan Homeless Shelter Board of Directors - As the members of the Board of Directors of the Ketchikan Homeless Shelter, (PATH), we would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Ketchikan for their continued generosity to the homeless in our community. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013 

CBS-SE TV Signal By Ed Cushing - My name is Ed Cushing. As the Division Manager, KPU Telecommunications, I am responsible for KPU CommVision’s technical operations. The purpose of this letter is to respond to Sandra Rusin McCray’s SITNEWS posts dated January 15th & 19th, 2013, regarding a recent temporary outage of CBS-SE (KUBD) on the KPU CommVision network. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013

Review of the B.C.Hydro stream By A. M. Johnson - As a result of a submission on B.C Hydro and related earlier efforts, there has been some inquiry and comments. From the tone and depth of those perhaps a review with further gatherings is in order. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013

New buildings a bit too big? By Marie Zellmer - I have been following the sentiments of people who believe that the new construction projects the City of Ketchikan has taken on are a bit overboard. I have to agree to some extent. - More...
Friday - January 25, 2013

Support Angie Taggart & Her Iditarod Dogs! By Hamilton Gelhar - This person, Margery Glickman, has a website that encourages people to send a letter of protest to people who support or sponsor the Iditarod. She operates this website out of the state of Florida. I, along with many other people have been receiving messages that have been copied from her website and pasted into an email. I have asked her to stop the emails and take me off the list. She has refused everybody's request. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

RE: Iditarod dogs By Paul Jarvi - Regarding Ms Glickman's letter, Sled Dogs are breed to run in the snow and pull a weight. If you have ever owned a Siberian Husky with blue eyes like I have you would know this as a matter of fact. These dogs are adapted to the cold, they have two types of fur to keep them warm in the winter and less warm in the summer. I go to Florida on business once a year and notice these dogs in misery being walked on Ms. Glickman's hot humid streets with their abundance of fur. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

Fair Tax By Roy T. Newsom - Congress claims they have to avoid going "over the cliff" financially while they continue to kick the can down the road.  What a joke.  Please publish my letter so your readers can become aware of the real solution to this financial crisis. - More...
Friday AM - January 25, 2013

Who will question the government's actions? By Amanda Mitchell - "Don’t bite the hand that feeds you." This simple phrase contains a profound nugget of wisdom, but that many are unaware of. Whoever you are dependent on has power over you and can control you. If you understand this concept, it is not hard to understand the dangers of collectivism. Collectivism pools the resources of many to be distributed by a few. It can wield great power and heavy responsibility. Because of this, most positions of authority attract many seeking personal gain and it scares away the majority of ordinary people. Collectivism, within a government, is not unlike a Ponzi Scheme except many are forced by mandate to give instead of being conned into it.  Collectivism takes choice, freedom and individualism out of the picture and it takes away your right to decide for yourself. Eventually, when an individual questions or tries to break away from the authority of those making the decisions on his/her behalf, those seeking to keep their power try to effectively hinder any opposition. One way is through labeling, symbolizing and dehumanizing. Our country has employed using terms such as "terrorist,” "mentally ill,” or “conspiracy theorist” and others on those brave enough to speak out. - More...
Wednesday AM - January 23, 2013

The Obama Appeasers By Donald A. Moskowitz - President Obama’s recent picks for Secretary of Defense-Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State-John Kerry call into question Obama’s judgment and wisdom and his ability to lead this country. - More...
Wednesday AM - January 23, 2013

Iditarod dog cruelties By Margery Glickman - Iditarod dogs suffer horrendous cruelty every day of their lives. Mushers have drowned, shot, bludgeoned and dragged many dogs to death. For example, Iditarod musher Dave Olesen drowned a litter of newborn puppies. Another musher got rid of unwanted puppies by tying them in a bag and tossing the bag in a creek. Mushers even have a saying about not breeding dogs unless they can drown them: “Those who cannot drown should not breed.” - More..
Wednesday - January 23, 2012

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