Alaska: Alaska Native Arts Foundation Will Close in 2016 - Established in 2002, the Alaska Native Arts Foundation (ANAF) aspired to and accomplished great work in supporting the creative arts in rural and urban Alaska communities. Now, after 14 years of operation, the ANAF will close its doors in spring 2016.

Authentic and Wonderful! Exhibit in March 2015 Featuring Multiple Artists
Courtesy Alaska Native Arts Foundation

In support of its mission to create economic opportunities for Alaska Native artists, ANAF marketed artwork using virtual stores on its website and in partnership with Etsy. It provided Master Artist Workshops in Anchorage and Bethel, Business Training for Artists-as-Entrepreneurs, and Cultural Arts Project Support Grants to encourage artistic endeavors.

Anchorage-based ANAF’s vision was to create economic development in rural Alaska through Alaska Native art. To that end, ANAF became an arts consultant to consum- ers and a steward to Alaska Native artists by marketing, promoting, and ad- vocating for their work, and for indigenous art in general. ANAF welcomed Alaska Native artists and art collectors and future collectors from around the world.

ANAF’s first outreach trip was to Emmonak; the foundation then traveled to 25 rural communities to purchase work for resale on its e-commerce site before opening its downtown Anchorage gallery in 2006. Since the gallery opened, ANAF has curated more than 50 First Friday exhibitions featuring the work of 65+ emerging and established Alaska Native artists. Each year, the gallery welcomed more than 50,000 visitors.

Since its founding, ANAF has represented more than 1,300 artists from all 12 of the state’s Native cultural regions. It has launched artists’ careers by providing a platform in Alaska and encouraged many artists to reach out to markets around the world.

Some of the artists from the Ketchikan area that have been represented by ANAF are Diane Douglas-Willard and Brett (Pudgy) Pearce. In the Metlakata area some of the artists respresented include Vivan Benson, Rick Booth, Michael Booth, and Lindarae Shearer.

ANAF has also hosted nearly 20 artists at promotional events at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA; a cultural festival at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC; the Orenda Gallery in Paris, France; and Art Basel in Miami, FL. In addition, the foun- dation hosted fashion shows in Anchorage, New York, and Washington, DC.

While ANAF may cease its operations, Alaska Native arts and cultures remain a major economic asset for the state. By helping artists become regarded as entrepreneurs, ANAF provided opportunities and enhanced quality of life by preserving and perpetuating indigenous artistic traditions. - More...
Sunday AM - February 07, 2016

"There's an energetic cost to stay in Alaska," said David Douglas of the U.S. Geological Survey Science Center.

He and others compared wanderings of polar bears from two periods and found the bears now need to capture and eat as many as four additional seals each year to overcome faster-moving ice and stay in areas they prefer.

"That may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind that's at a time when their habitat to hunt seals is shrinking," he said.

While studying the movements of satellite-collared female polar bears (collars don't fit on males because their necks are larger than their heads), Douglas and his colleagues also looked at ice drift off the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska.

"Not only is the ice pack thinner and more responsive to wind forcing, there's an increase in wind forcing as well," he said. "The ice is drifting faster under the feet of polar bears in the Beaufort/Chukchi (sea) region."

The ice moves an average of 4 to 5 kilometers each day north of Alaska. If a bear off the coast near Point Hope stood still on a raft of sea ice, within a few months it would be off the northern coast of Russia, Douglas said. - More...
Sunday AM - February 07, 2016

Ketchikan Business: New independent primary care practice to open - A life long Ketchikan resident, Tammy Earnest, a certified Family Nurse Practitioner will open a new independent primary care practice, Serenity Health & Wellness, on March 1, 2016 at 120 Carlanna Lake Road.

Earnest was inspired to become a Family Nurse Practitioner by her mother in law, retired registered nurse Kay Earnest. In 2001, after staying home to raise her two sons, Earnest became a registered nurse. She worked for 10 years in local clinics and the emergency department before pursuing an advanced nursing degree while working full-time. In 2013 Earnest earned her Master of Science degree in Nursing, specializing in Family Practice.

“I love taking care of the individuals in our community”, Earnest states. “I take pride in being a part of the patient’s healthcare team, working with them to customize their care in a way that works for them so that they are healthy and able to continue enjoying the things they love, on their terms.”

Earnest believes in a holistic approach to healthcare, combining a mix of both traditional and nontraditional modalities for the best-individualized results. Earnest’s training prepared her specifically in family practice. She will offer primary care services that include wellness exams for all age groups, school & sports health exams, Merchant Mariner physicals, and acute/urgent care. She is also nationally certified to perform Department of Transportation commercial driver physical exams. Earnest has an enthusiasm for preventative healthcare with a strong interest in teens through young adulthood. - More...
Sunday AM - February 07, 2016

Columns - Commentary

WILL DURST: Iowa, Where Everyone's a Winner - The great state of Iowa has a history of cultivating its topsoil for a harvest of winners the rest of the country may enjoy. Glenn Miller. Buffalo Bill Cody. George Reeves. Herbert Hoover. James Tiberius Kirk. As a side note, this may be the first time in history the word "enjoy" has been linked to Herbert Hoover.

The recent raucous caucus process is a perfect example of the Hawkeye State's peculiar propensity for propagating the propitious. It is the Special Olympics of politics. "Thanks for playing our game. Here's a bunch of trophies. We think everybody's a winner."

After the smoke cleared, small, medium and large sized winners littered the ground like mushroom spores on cowpies after a spring rain. Just eating at a Pizza Ranch was a qualification to be presented with a medal.

Of course the foremost winners were Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton because they won and that's what winners do. But Marco Rubio was also a winner because he exceeded expectations, which in politics is considered a win. Then after the results were announced, he gave a victory speech even though he came in third, also indicative of a winner.

Donald Trump was a winner because, as he informs us over and over, Donald Trump is a winner, but he was also a loser because, he didn't win. Hillary Clinton too was a loser because she didn't win by enough, making Bernie Sanders a winner, even though he lost. Still with me?

Chris Christie didn't try to win, and didn't, so he's a big winner, with an emphasis on the adjective. Jim Gilmore was the slimmest of winners because he got twelve, count em, twelve votes; only twelve more than either you or I got and we didn't even go to Iowa. Making us winners for not spending the month of January wandering around coffee shops drinking decaf.

Cubans won. Canadians won. Cuban-Canadians won. Corinthians won. Ethanol, pork tenderloins, the New York Daily News and Chris Matthews won. "Your thoughts." Glenn Beck was a winner for hanging out with the guy who really did win. Sarah Palin, no, sorry, still not a winner, but she's got her one winning attitude, you betcha'. - More...
Sunday AM - February 07, 2016