SitNews - Stories In The News - Ketchikan, Alaska - February 27, 2014

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Thursday
February 27, 2014

Front Page Photograph By CARL THOMPSON

Thomas Basin Harbor
Located at the south end of town on the banks of the bountiful Ketchikan Creek. And where did Thomas Basin get its name? Click here...
Front Page Photograph By CARL THOMPSON ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)

Ketchikan: Ketchikan Woman Cited for Texting-While-Driving By MARY KAUFFMAN - Alaska State Troopers cited a Ketchikan woman Wednesday after crashing her 2006 Infinity while texting and driving with her 3-year old daughter in the vehicle.

The single vehicle collision occured near mile six of the North Tongass Highway. Investigation by the Alaska State Trooprs revealed that Jasmine Pattison, 31 years of age of Ketchikan, was driving her 2006 Infinity southbound on the highway when she became distracted by utilizing her smartphone to text. According to the Troopers, Pattison drifted into the oncoming lane and her vehicle exited the roadway causing minor injuries to the driver with the driver's side airbag deploying. Pattison's three year old daughter was uninjured. - More...
Thursday PM - February 27, 2014

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Alaska: Bering Land Bridge a long-term refuge for early Americans; Population of hundreds or thousands likely lived on land bridge for up to 10,000 years - A new study bolsters the theory that the first Americans, who are believed to have come over from northeast Asia during the last ice age, may have been isolated on the Bering Land Bridge for thousands of years before spreading throughout the Americas.

A photo of Alaska's shrub tundra environment today showing birch shrubs in the foreground and spruce trees scattered around Eight Mile Lake, located in the foothills of the Alaska Range.
Photo credit: Nancy Bigelow, University of Alaska Fairbanks

The theory, now known as the "Beringia Standstill," was first proposed in 1997 by two Latin American geneticists and refined in 2007 by a team led by the University of Tartu in Estonia that sampled mitrochondrial DNA from more than 600 Native Americans. The researchers found that mutations in the DNA indicated a group of their direct ancestors from Siberia was likely isolated for at least several thousand years in the region of the Bering Land Bridge, the now-submerged plain that lies between northeast Asia and Alaska once exposed by a significantly lower sea level.

The new study was led by the University of Colorado Boulder. John Hoffecker, lead author of a short paper article appearing in the Feb. 28 issue of Science magazine, said the Beringia Standstill model gained little traction outside of the genetics community after it was proposed and has been seen by some scientists outside of the field as far-fetched. But the new paper by Hoffecker and co-authors Scott Elias of Royal Holloway, University of London, and Dennis O'Rourke of the University of Utah adds credence to the Beringia Standstill idea by further linking the genetics to the paleoecological evidence.

"A number of supporting pieces have fallen in place during the last decade, including new evidence that central Beringia supported a shrub tundra region with some trees during the last glacial maximum and was characterized by surprisingly mild temperatures, given the high latitude," said Hoffecker of CU-Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. The last glacial maximum peaked roughly 21,000 years ago and was marked by the growth of vast ice sheets in North America and Europe.

While a debate rages on about when early humans first migrated into the New World, many archaeologists now believe it was sometime around 15,000 years ago after retreating glaciers opened access to coastal and interior routes into North America. - More...
Thursday PM - February 27, 2014

Southeast Alaska: Large Landslide in Southeast Alaska - Using imagery from the Landsat 8 satellite, scientists confirmed that a large landslide occurred in southeastern Alaska on February 16, 2014. A preliminary estimate suggests the landslide on the flanks of Mount La Perouse involved 68 million metric tons (75 million short tons) of material, which potentially makes it the largest known natural landslide on Earth since 2010.

The first visual confirmation that the slide had occurred came a week ago on February 22, 2014, when helicopter pilot Drake Olson flew over and photographed landslide debris at 58.542 degrees North and 137.01 West. Landsat 8 passed over a day later, offering another view of the slide.

The Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8 acquired this image on February 23, 2014. The avalanche debris appears light brown compared to the snow-covered surroundings. The sediment slid in a southeasterly direction, stretching across 7.4 kilometers (4.6 miles) and mixing with ice and snow in the process. The slide was triggered by the collapse of a near-vertical mountain face at an elevation of 2,800 meters (9,200 feet), according to Colin Stark, a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.

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Landslide on the flanks of Mount La Perouse involved 68 million metric tons (75 million short tons) of material
Image courtesy: Earth Observatory - NASA

Stark first became aware that a landslide may have occurred when a rapid detection tool that sifts through data collected by a global earthquake monitoring network picked up a signal indicative of a fairly significant event. The earthquake sensors detect seismic waves—vibrations that radiate through Earth’s crust because of sudden movements of rock, ice, magma, or debris.- More...
Thursday PM - February 27, 2014

Alaska: Humpback Whale Subpopulation’s Recovery Prompts Petition for Delisting As An Endangered Species - The subpopulation of humpback whales that migrates seasonally between Alaska and Hawaii has recovered, is no longer threatened with extinction, and should be removed from the list of species covered by the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), the State of Alaska declared Wednesday in a petition submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”).

This subpopulation of whales, known as the Central North Pacific subpopulation, feeds in Alaska waters in the summer and breeds in Hawaii waters in the winter. NMFS recognizes this subpopulation as the largest of three breeding subpopulations in the North Pacific.

The petition submitted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game calls for NMFS to designate the Central North Pacific subpopulation of humpback whales as a Distinct Population Segment (“DPS”) under the ESA and to delist the newly established DPS because it has met recovery goals and has increased to the point that protection under the ESA is no longer required. After delisting, the population will still be protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other state and federal laws, but the regulatory burdens of the ESA will be lifted.

The humpback whale occurs in all major ocean basins and was listed in 1970 as endangered under an early version of the ESA. These whales were severely depleted by commercial whaling in the 1800s and 1900s before the International Whaling Commission halted harvest of the species in 1966. Prior to 1905, the humpback whale population in the North Pacific was estimated to contain 15,000 animals. When harvest was stopped, as few as 1,000 humpback whales remained. Since then, the population has rebounded exponentially. Current estimates place the total North Pacific population at 21,800 animals. - More...
Thursday PM - February 27, 2014

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Alaska Science: Mystery of the South Fork wolf By NED ROZELL - The wolf is no longer stuck to the trail, as it was when the dog musher drove her reluctant team over it. Now covered with snow, the frozen animal is a few steps away, beneath small spruce trees near the South Fork of the Chena River. The only exposed part of its body — a bushy tail — points to the sky.

Biologist Tom Paragi pulls a dead wolf on his sled, followed by Mike Taras. They were recovering the animal from a trail east of Fairbanks where a dog musher discovered it.
Photo by Ned Rozell

Since the musher discovered the dead wolf a few days ago, someone moved the carcass - maybe the trapper who passed the biologists on his snowmachine as they skied here. He discovered the wolf yesterday and was returning today to cut off its head, he said. When the trapper paused to chat, he learned the biologists wanted to retrieve the wolf and have a veterinarian determine how it died.

“You guys can have it then,” the trapper said. “I’ll tell you right now that it was shot — there’s blood on the trail underneath it.”

At the carcass, Tom Paragi levers the wolf — its stiff legs reaching like a dog in full stretch — out of the snowbank and back onto the trail. The body squeaks like Styrofoam and falls with the thud of frozen meat.

Paragi is a biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Before inspecting the wolf, his first thought is similar to the trapper’s.

“I’m suspecting it was high velocity lead poisoning,” Paragi says.

“But if they shot it in the trail, would they just leave it there?” says Paragi’s friend Cam Leonard, along for the recovery.

“This is odd for somebody to shoot it and not salvage it,” Paragi says. “It’s perfectly legal (to shoot it) . . . but even in self-defense you’ve got to skin it out and bring it in (to the Department of Fish and Game).” - More...
Thursday PM - February 27, 2014

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KGB water tanks & chemicals in our drinking water By Dan McQueen - I have lived in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough since 1981. In 1989 we bought property and started building our home. At the time there was a local water supply but the water had dirt, bugs, etc. in it. We used it until we got the house up & livable. During that time our local water out here was making people sick, it was even rumored the water killed a baby from a sickness. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014

Chloramine in my water for six years and 10 months By Ellen Powell - I have been following this chloramine issue in Ketchikan. I would like to make one small correction to some information in a recent letter to the editor. It wasn't the town council members who stepped down because of a strong pushback from the citizens in Grand Isle Vermont, it was the water board members who stepped down. When people in the Grand Isle Consolidated Water District learned of the skin, respiratory and digestive symptoms that people in my Vermont water district (Champlain Water District) had developed since chloramine replaced chlorine, they fought hard to keep chloramine out of theirs. They prevailed. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014

Chloramines To Be Added to Ketchikan's Water By Chris Merando - The Poughkeepsie N.Y. Water Treatment Facility, which at the time served the village where I live, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., switched from chlorine to chloramine on October 26, 2006. I immediately started having serious reactions to my new water. From showering with it, I began having painful blistery “rashes” on my skin, which only got worse with each shower. I assumed that I needed to replace the Vitamin C insert in my shower filter, but I still had problems after replacing it. I later learned that Vitamin C works well in neutralizing chlorine, but it is ineffective for chloramine. Pretty soon I began having other health issues. I had constant heartburn from drinking and cooking with my tap water. Also I developed breathing problems and began wheezing and struggling to breathe from inhaling the steam in my shower. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014

Bus schedule By Walter Grove - The morning buses northbound are scheduled 2 to 3 minutes apart. If you miss the second bus an hour elapses before you may catch a ride north. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014

The Fair Tax (“FT”) INCREASES WELFARE By Stephen C. Eldridge - The FT’s Prebate is a WELFARE check that leaves many dependent upon the govt for a large portion of their monthly income – a very bad idea. The Prebate is explained as being needed to insure that the poor pay no FT, merely assuming that we all agree with that goal. Further analysis exposes that the Prebate goes much further – it gives the poor a large FT PROFIT. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014

Why Democrats Should be for The FairTax By Wiley Brooks - The FairTax is a plan developed by some of the nation’s most respected economist. It replaces all federal income- and payroll-based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a family allowance to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment. - More...
Tuesday AM - February 25, 2014

RE: Rezoning By George Lybrand - With Reference to Marty West’s Letter of 2/12/14: Ms. Marty, as you know, the City of Ketchikan opposed this rezone by a letter to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Planning Department dated 2/3/14. What I found odd about this is that City had no opposition to rezoning the adjacent Copper Ridge property which increased assessments value from $.25/sf to $35.00/sf. Now its not OK to rezone this property and do the same thing? - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

Council Ignores Important Information on Chloramine By Amanda Mitchell - As many of you have already signed our informal petition to stop the planned use of chloramine, it is important to inform you that our City Council is not interested in listening to us. They mocked concern and put our future into the hands of a corporation, CH2M Hill, that has clung onto outdated information. According to our Ketchikan Daily Newspaper, Olsen said no one ever spoke out on this issue. I know personally that this is not so and many of you did speak out, but were completely ignored and told misleading information. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

Adding Chloramine to Ketchikan's Water By Betty Constuble - Our city fathers have made a terrible choice in deciding to add chloramine to our drinking water. This is dangerous. It causes health problems and property damage. It will harm our fish as it goes into our ocean. People taking chemotherapy or with HIV are told not to drink this but to take the cholamine out of the water first. But it is nearly impossible to remove it. What are these people going to do? - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

Poisoning Ketchikan's well By James Schenk - What follows is my informed Opinion, thank you for reading further. Several years ago a friend of mine from Ketchikan who works for the Alaska Ferries, informed me of a plan to change the water system in Ketchikan. The problem was not as the old problem that existed with our current water system, a known carcinogen inside the infrastructure installed years ago. No this was a new problem indeed. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

RE: It snows in Alaska By Laura (Attwood) Random - I read Mary Hemli's letter to the editor regarding the bus not going to Ketchikan Medical Center during a recent snowfall and am certainly offended by her attack on the drivers of the Ketchikan Bus. "We have to quit hiring people who have no idea how to drive in the snow" is offensive and rude. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

RE: Postal Service By Marlene Steiner - I just got a letter in the mail today that came from a local. It was sent out on the 14th of this month and today is the 19th. I looked at the Meter Post Mark and it was from 99801 which is Juneau not Ketchikan and taking 5 days to get to me. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

NO WONDER By David G. Hanger - When exactly did you take Darrell Issa’s kool-aid, Mr. Haberman? I am sure most folks see clearly your kamikaze flame-out in attempting to justify a policy you put in place that even as you wrote was being ripped apart by your superiors, i.e. Senator Begich, et al. How many have gone further in their analysis of what you have written, I cannot say, but what you have written convinces me you should be fired because you are obviously not the person for this job. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

Circumventing Congress and The Constitution By Donald A. Moskowitz - Presidents have abused their powers by circumventing Congress with executive orders, which could be unconstitutional in many cases. - More...
Saturday PM - February 22, 2014

Cannery work remembered By Arnold C Anderson - Many years ago in 1948 I went to Ketchikan Alaska to work in the Ketchikan Packing Company. I was a college kid out of work and had gone up there at my own expense. It was a time when fish traps were allowed for their last year. The traps were used everyday except Sunday. It was amazing how many fish were caught and were brought in by fish trap tenders. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014

Blocked? By Mamie Alexander - I am trying to find out how a private company can place equipment in a State Correctional Institution and charge people subscription fees to receive phone calls from inmates. This happened to me in the recent past. I was told the company had set up their equipment in the facility and in order to receive calls we had to subscribe to their services. I would like to know what has happened to this company, is it still there selling subscriptions and is this why the phones are blocked? Is it legal? 0 More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014

Legalizing Cannabis By Alan R.(Rudy) McGillvray - To all my fellow Alaskans, cannabis consumers or not, yes, horrors of horrors, Rudy smokes and otherwise consumes cannabis? Yes I do, and as such, I have no problem with it other than staying flush with enough cash to maintain my level of consumption, which amounts to 4 grams a month (maybe 8 grams) and it lasts about 3 days. But, that is NOT why I decided to write this. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014

18 Trillion Debt By A.M. Johnson - A lesson in politics: Senator "Murky" Murkowski is about fooling low information voters once again. The Ketchikan Daily News on 2/14/14 reports a Juneau source reporting Senator Murkowski voted against raising the nation debt limit yet again and again. In the reporting the Senator is quoted "Raising the debt limits is an abdication of Congress in addressing the national debt." Well, we have national debt now at 18 Trillion dollars ($18,000,000,000,000,000,000). - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014

It snows in Alaska! By Mary E Hemli - This last week we have had snow in Ketchikan. It is good for our water shed. On Tuesday there was a message up by the front of the Hospital saying the city bus could not make it up the hill so people would have to walk down to Tongass to catch the bus. I am 66 years old and have to be at the Hospital for some antibiotic infusion. I could not walk down to Tongass to catch the bus, what are we doing hiring from Georgia and Virginia? I have never seen the bus not go to the hospital It is a Hospital and the people there are usually sick. I have live here 30 years and this has never happened. - More....
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014

RE: Explanation please! By Gina Palmer - After reading the letter from Kaisa Polanska, I thought I would write and enlighten her as to why KTB has not responded to her "right to know' why the artistic director was let go. - More...
Tuesday PM - February 18, 2014

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