Southeast AK: Fishermen forced to share pounds in herring fishery by Angela Denning, KFSK - New restrictions are being put into place for the upcoming spawn-on-kelp herring fishery in Southeast Alaska to address a declining population. - Read or listen to this KFSK news... http://www.kfsk.org Photo of the Month PFD: Online filing for the 2017 PFD began at 9:00 am on January 1, 2017 and ends March 31,2017. https://pfd.alaska.gov Ketchikan: Public Meetings Ketchikan: Upcoming Events Historical Ketchikan June Allen Dave Kiffer Louise B. Harrington Ketchikan Weather Ketchikan's Forecast Ketchikan's Historic Weather Nat Weather Service KTN Ketchikan Tides & Currents Search the News Ketchikan Alaska Sitnews RSS widget

Ketchikan: New Partnership Supports Advanced Manufacturing Careers for Alaskans - Vigor, Alaska’s largest shipbuilder and ship repair expert, along with leaders of Alaska’s maritime industry, Maritime Works, jointly announced plans for an innovative training program aimed at developing an advanced manufacturing workforce comprised of Alaska residents.

Vigor operates the Ketchikan shipyard, which includes a brand new 70,000 square foot assembly hall along with an adjacent indoor fabrication shop.The yard is one of the most modern in the United States and provides an excellent year-round location for new builds, repair, and refit to support nearly any vessel working Alaska's waters.
Photo courtesy Vigor

This bold public, private and philanthropic initiative is called Advancing Alaskan Workers and it is essential to combatting the high turnover rates seen at the Ketchikan shipyard and elsewhere that result when non-Alaskans are recruited to fill the critical skills gap in our state.

In 2016 Vigor employed 191 people at the Ketchikan Shipyard (KSY), up substantially from just 21 employees in 1994. With large contracts to build two Alaska-class ferries for the Alaska Marine Highway System - and other large projects forecasted for the future - Vigor and Maritime Works are taking proactive steps to build a skilled local workforce to meet the demand.

“The maritime sector holds great promise for the future of our state,” said Doug Ward, Director of Shipyard Development at Vigor. “To realize that promise we must have a stable, best-in-class Alaska resident workforce which will enable us to win more contracts and in turn provide a steady flow of work for our community.”

The Advancing Alaskan Workers project offers structured on-the-job training, leading to industry-recognized credentials and family wage careers. “This is key to providing sustainable opportunities for Alaskans in the Ketchikan workforce as well as providing Vigor’s current workforce a path for upgrading skills, advancing to leadership positions and higher earnings,” says Cari-Ann Carty, spokesperson for Maritime Works. Carty is the Executive Director of the Alaska Process Industry Careers Consortium (APICC), an industry backed nonprofit, which serves as staff and fiscal agent for Maritime Works. - More...
Friday AM - February 03, 2017

Alaska: Stedman Rolls Out Plan To Guard and Grow Alaskans’ Permanent Fund - Alaska Senator Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) rolled out a new plan this year to guard and grow the Alaska Permanent Fund.

“It is time to build a simple new framework for the permanent fund,” said Sen. Stedman. “One that provides a stable and predictable dividend, protects the fund by ring-fencing it, and allows the proven management of the fund to continue. This bill is not intended to be a final solution for state budget deficits; it is intended to protect the permanent fund first and safeguard the dividend for current and future generations.”

SB 21 (2017 version) creates a simple percent of market value structure. The draw would be calculated based on an average of the year-end market value of the permanent fund for the first five of the last six fiscal years. An amount equal to 4.5 percent of the average would then be made available for appropriation.

According to Sen. Stedman's Sponsor Statement, SB 21 would establish a percent of market value (POMV) approach that “guards and grows” the Permanent Fund. It guards the Permanent Fund from legislative appropriations in several ways. - More...
Friday AM - February 03, 2017

Ketchikan: Rebecca "Becky" Stoeckler Joins Creekside Family Health Clinic - Creekside Family Health Clinic announced the recruitment of Rebecca "Becky" Stoeckler, FNP-C to the practice as a family nurse practitioner (FNP-C). Stoeckler graduated in 2016 from Simmons College in Boston, MA with a Master of Science in Nursing and is board certified in Family Practice. She will provide acute and primary health and medical care to children, adolescents, and adults.

Rebecca "Becky" Stoeckler
Photo courtesy Creekside Family Health Clinic

Although she is a native of New Jersey, she is no stranger to Alaska. Stoeckler completed her clinical rotations with SEARHC in Sitka during 2015/16 and worked as a nurse in the outpatient clinic and emergency room at that facility from 2013 - 2016. Prior to that Stoeckler worked at the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center from 2009 - 2013 in the PACU, ER, and acute care departments. "Eight years ago we came here and really fell in love with everything Alaska has to offer", Stoeckler said.

“We were pretty excited to meet Becky, especially since she was already living here in Ketchikan" says Lani Hill, Family Nurse Practitioner and clinic owner. "It's especially nice because she's already settled here and doesn't need a pre-lecture on the weather", she noted with a smile. "Her experience, easy-going nature and genuine interest in patient care will be a real asset here", she added. - More...
Friday AM - February 02, 2017

Columns - Commentary

Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch Tuesday to succeed Antonin Scalia, whose seat on the nation’s highest bench has remained vacant since his death in February 2016.

Gorsuch, a 49-year-old judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, is a former journalist with a strong judicial record of supporting freedom of the press.

Before attending Harvard Law and embarking on a legal career, Gorsuch studied at Columbia University, where he wrote columns for the student newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator. He also co-founded an alternative student newspaper, The Fed, aimed at rebutting what he considered the dominant “politically correct” philosophy on campus. - More...
Friday AM - February 03, 2017

DICK POLMAN: On the Supreme Court, Democrats Simply Lost - When Senate Republicans decided last year to ditch their constitutional duty - by stiffing President Obama's eminently qualified Supreme Court nominee, denying him even the courtesy of a hearing - they took a big political risk. They gambled that the voters wouldn't punish them on election day.

Turns out, they were right. Their unprecedented power play paid off.

And that's why the minority Democrats are currently up the creek. They can fume all they want about how the GOP stole Merrick Garland's seat - justifiably so - but their options for blocking Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch are basically nonexistent. Senate rules require 60 votes for passage, which means that Mitch McConnell needs eight Democrats to say yes. But if Democrats dig in, McConnell can always change the Senate rules and put Gorsuch on the court with a simple majority vote - 51 Republicans saying yes, no Democrats needed. - More...
Friday AM - February 03, 2017

ARTHUR MARTIN: [The Never Ending Presidential Campaign] Donald Trump Applies to Run in 2020 within Hours of Becoming President. - Yes, you read that headline correctly. There where complaints during Obama’s first term that instead of focusing on his main job as President, he optically ran a never ending presidential campaign for his second term. Optics aside, President Obama officially filed for his 2012 re-election in April of 2011. This is not the case for Trump.

To put in this in context:

47 months—Donald Trump filed on Jan. 20, 2017 for the 2020 election.
19 months—Barack Obama filed on April 4, 2011 for his 2012 re-election.
18 months—George W. Bush filed on May 16, 2003 to run in 2004.
19 months—Bill Clinton filed on April 14, 1995 for his 1996 re-election campaign.
12 months—George H.W. Bush filling on Oct. 11, 1991 for the 1992 election.
12 months—Ronald Reagan filed on October 17, 1983 for the 1984 campaign. - More...
Friday AM - February 03, 2017