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Wednesday
March 30, 2016
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Ward Lake: Trumpeter Swans
Trumpeter Swans are the heaviest living bird native to North America,
and also the largest still in existence species of waterfowl with a wingspan that may exceed 10 ft.
Front Page Feature Photo By SUSAN HOYT ©2016
Southeast Alaska: Mid-sized sawmills face possible closures - Southeast Alaska’s last remaining mid-sized sawmill may close if the Forest Service forces a transition to young growth before the timber is of marketable size according to the Board of Directors of Southeast Conference.
One small glimpse of the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest
Photo Courtesy US Forest Service
Viking Lumber and other small and mid-sized sawmill operations are expressing concern about the Forest Service’s plan to expedite the transition to a young growth timber industry. The transition plan as announced by Secretary Vilsack in 2013 would terminate the harvest of mature trees and expedite the cutting of second growth trees that need to grow for another 30 to 40 years; with a promise to maintain an integrated wood products industry, continue to provide jobs and help sustain communities in Southeast Alaska.
“Viking Lumber has about a year and a half of economical timber left to process.” Bryce Dahlstrom, Vice President of Transportation for Viking Lumber stated. “After that we are closing our doors unless more economic timber is sold by the Forest Service.”
Southeast Conference (SEC) a non-profit organization dedicated to the economic health of Southeast Alaska, gathered in Juneau March 15 & 16, 2016 for the Mid-Session Summit membership meeting. One of the subjects discussed at this meeting was the possible collapse of the Southeast Alaska timber industry.
“SEC has long been an advocate for resource development especially the timber industry and hearing this disturbing statement from our last remaining mid-size sawmill owner is devastating. We are asking the Forest Service to delay the transition and offer immediate bridge timber contracts to save our industry.” Said Shelly Wright, SE Conference Executive Director
Dahlstrom went on to say that he is in despair over this decision to leave southeast because of the effect to the community he grew up in. Approximately 150 jobs will be lost including road builders, cutters, loggers, truckers and marine transportation. Viking Lumber accounts for about 60% of AP&T, the local electric provider, revenue along with contributing to local companies and franchises such as Napa, Petro Marine, Shuab Ellison, Tyler Rental and Alaska Commercial. For communities on Prince of Wales Island, 150 jobs is a major industry.
Alcan Timber, a major employer in the industry working in Ketchikan, Zarembo Island and Hecata Island is also foreseeing operations ceasing to exist in Southeast because of insufficient supply. With the State of Alaska’s budget crisis, the delays in the Alaska Mental Health Trust land exchange, and the inability, or lack of desire, of the Forest service to meet market demands there appears to be no economical timber for the industry to survive.
Sealaska also issued a statement saying “Sealaska’s goal for a smaller sustainable cut from its timberlands is to bridge to second growth and to create a stable workforce that can lead into second growth harvest. But creation of a stable timber industry that local communities can rely on for economic opportunities and jobs require adequate and consistent timber from the U.S. Forest Service as well. An inadequate Forest Service timber supply, such as the one now facing the industry, could make Sealaska reassess our sustainable cut framework, and threatens the industry’s ability to bridge to second growth.” - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
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Alaska: Birth Control & "Right to Try" Bills Pass Out of HSS Committees - A bill introduced on January 22, 2016, which would allow health insurance providers in Alaska to provide women 12 months of prescription hormonal contraceptives at a time.
Today SB156, introduced by Senator Berta Gardner (D-Anchorage), had its second hearing in the Senate Health and Social Services committee and was passed out of the committee by unanimous vote. It will now move on to the Senate Labor and Commerce committee, chaired by Senator Mia Costello.
Currently, women who use oral contraceptives must return to the pharmacy every month to three months to refill their prescriptions. This can be challenging for Alaskan women, particularly in rural areas. After an initial 3-month trial prescription, this bill would allow women to refill the prescription once a year instead of once a month. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
Ketchikan: Guyselman attends marketing conference with a credit union spin - Rachel Guyselman, an employee of the Ketchikan-based Tongass Federal Credit Union, was one of ten young professionals selected throughout the nation to "crash" the Credit Union National Association's (CUNA) Marketing and Business Development Conference. The conference is held annually for Marketing and Business Development professionals throughout the United States. This year the conference was held in Anaheim, California. Guyselman represented Ketchikan at the event by speaking about Southern Southeast Alaska's unique terrain, residents, and its caring, diverse communities.
Guyselman a Tongass Federal Credit Union Operations Supervisor said, “I gained an incredible amount of knowledge and met some lifelong friends who are also in the credit union industry. Most importantly I learned that even a small organization can have an impact in their communities through their marketing campaigns.”
The Marketing and Business Development Conference, held March 20-23, 2016, was presented by CUNA Councils which is a professional development organization run by credit union leaders for credit union leaders. The CUNA Councils are directed by more than 300 credit union volunteers. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016 |
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Alaska: Zombie-generating crab parasites pose intriguing mysteries By LAUREN FRISCH - Nobody knows how the parasitic barnacles create zombie crabs.
The red pouch is a visible parasite egg sac on an infected male red king crab. The blue-green parasite is visible behind the pouch in the innards of the crab.
Photo by Leah Sloan
King crabs, already otherworldly-looking creatures, grow even stranger when barnacles invade them. The insides of infected crabs become filled with green, branching tendrils that resemble plant roots more than anything.
Barnacles are marine animals with outer shells, related to crabs and lobsters. Typically, they live on rocks or the sides of boats, filtering food out of the water. However, Briarosaccus barnacles infect king crabs, turning them into “zombie” crabs that raise and nurture the parasite’s eggs. The mechanisms behind this control are unknown. Additionally, scientists do not have a strong understanding of how many crabs are infected or under what conditions the parasite thrives.
Leah Sloan, a PhD student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, is studying both the mechanism for control and the range of temperatures and salinities the barnacle can tolerate. Working with SFOS associate professor of marine biology Sarah Hardy, Sloan wants to raise awareness about the barnacle and develop easier ways to detect infected crabs.
Most of the southern and western coasts of Alaska support commercial fisheries for king crabs, which are distributed to human consumers worldwide. In 2014, the total ex-vessel value for blue, red, and golden king crab fisheries amounted to approximately $96 million.
“I was excited to take on this research because of its potential importance to the valuable king crab fisheries of Alaska, but also wanted to study this species simply because of the thrill of discovering the secrets of a species that hardly anyone has ever studied before,” Sloan said. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
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Columns - Commentary
TOM PURCELL: The Only Move to Make if Trump Wins - It's become a cottage industry since Donald Trump started winning Republican primaries: If he wins the presidency, one in four Americans would consider moving to another country, according to a recent Morning Consult/Vox poll.
Google searches for "How can I move to Canada" spiked in the beginning of March after Trump had a series of primary wins.
A tiny island in County Mayo, Ireland, with 58 inhabitants is letting Americans know they are welcome there if "the unimaginable" happens.
CBS News reports that a radio host on Cape Breton Island, a small island in Nova Scotia, is encouraging disaffected Americans to move to the declining region. Apparently, they'll take any warm body they can get.
Several news articles offer recommendations on the top countries to move to, and provide links to the necessary forms, if Trump makes it into the White House.
According to Mashable, Svalbard, a territory of Norway, requires no visa or resident permit, but transplants are not eligible for "free" social services and they "must be able to protect themselves from polar bears."
That's a good one. I haven't met many progressive American males who could protect themselves. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
PHIL KERPEN: End Unauthorized Federal Spending - The federal government is scheduled to spend $310 billion of your tax dollars this year on federal programs that are not authorized by law according to the Congressional Budget Office. That's about a quarter of all so-called discretionary spending, so one of every four taxpayer dollars Congress spends is going to a program that is legally expired.
It is a total breakdown of accountability and oversight and, unfortunately, it is business as usual in Washington. The good news is an innovative legislative solution has been proposed by Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers: automatic reductions in spending via sequestration for programs that remain unauthorized, and ultimately phasing them out completely unless Congress acts to reauthorize them.
There are 256 expired spending programs that were nonetheless funded this year. Not every unauthorized program is without merit. They range from the very large to the very small. All of NASA ($19 billion in 2016 appropriations) and the National Institutes for Health ($31 billion) are presently operating despite an expired authorization. On the smaller end, The Brown Tree Snake eradication program in Guam and the United States Poland Parliamentary Youth Exchange Program continue to be funded despite expired authorizations.
These major agencies and all of the other programs operating without legal authorization are set on autopilot, with no meaningful oversight from our elected officials in Congress to review their purpose, structure, or effectiveness with our tax dollars. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016 |
Editorial Cartoon: Bernie Bird
By Steve Sack ©2016, The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
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 Children of the Territory By David Otness - A number of life-long Alaskan friends and myself have been taken aback by what has happened to our beloved Alaska over the past 40 + years and how little it resembles and feels like the place in which we grew up in the then Territory of Alaska. Of course the demon and denominator - and ultimately the bane - is and was the Resource Curse that befalls any nominally-sophisticated group of people when Big Oil comes to town. And yes, it brought much which is bright and shiny, but it also brought social ills in overabundance to what was once a widely-stretched-out, self-sufficient and resilient community that lived in relative harmony in an era that rightfully should be revered and is still remembered in high esteem and longing by those of us who knew it when. I reckon we’ll be defined as primitive for that notion these days. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
Part 3: “OIL COMPANY” WALKER, “OIL CAN” ORTIZ, AND OIL COMPANY SOCIALISM By David G Hanger - The complacency of “Oil Can” Dan Ortiz is appalling, and verges on dishonesty. Dan Ortiz does not have an obligation to the people of the state of Alaska; he has an obligation to us as our representative, and in that regard he is a disaster. It is not our obligation to bail Anchorage and Fairbanks out of their economic problems. They have never helped us with ours, but we have to empty our wallets to help theirs. That’s nuts. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
DON TRUMP RHETORIC By Mary Lynne Dahl - Although I am encouraged by the wide range of people showing an interest in the upcoming Presidential election, some of the comments made in response to my criticism of Donald Trump were not accurate. Of course we do not all agree with one another. Of course we dispute the facts or view them from our own, unique perspective. That is all good, part of the flawed but marvelous system of democracy we enjoy. It is not a flawless system, but it is better than the alternatives. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
People of Alaska or Oil First? By Robert Johnson - I was born and raised in Ketchikan 82 years ago and it has really gone downhill since the Republicans have been in power. It's about time for a change. I voted against statehood in 1957 and it has gone down since then, we need another Bill Eagan to put us back on track. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
Old growth and young growth logging needed to sustain the current industry By Shelly Wright - Southeast Conference (SEC) a non-profit organization dedicated to the economic health of Southeast Alaska, gathered in Juneau March 15 & 16, 2016 for the Mid-Session Summit membership meeting. One of the subjects discussed at this meeting was the collapse of the Southeast Alaska timber industry. Bryce Dahlstrom, Vice President of Transportation for Viking Lumber stated, “Viking Lumber has about a year and a half of economical timber left to process. After that we are closing our doors unless more timber is sold by the Forest Service.” SEC has long been an advocate for resource development especially the timber industry and hearing this disturbing statement from our last remaining mid-size sawmill owner is devastating. Bryce went on to say that he is in despair over this decision to leave southeast, not because of the financial situation of his family, they have other opportunities elsewhere, but because of what the effects will be to the community he has grown up in. He worries about the people and communities they will be leaving behind. Approximately 150 jobs will be lost including road builders, cutters, loggers and truckers. Viking Lumber accounts for about 60% of AP&T, the local electric provider, revenue along with contributing to local towing companies, franchises such as Napa, Petro Marine, Shuab Ellison, Tyler Rental and Alaska Commercial. For communities on Prince of Wales Island, 150 jobs is a major industry. - More...
Wednesday PM - March 30, 2016
Our Obligation: The People of Alaska By Rep. Dan Ortiz - I have the honor of serving as your representative in the Alaska State Legislature. The major issue facing our legislature this session is Alaska’s fiscal situation. I’m committed to the practice of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. I spend a lot of time communicating with constituents across our district, from Hyder in the south, to Wrangell in the north. I seek to hear from our friends and neighbors about the issues on their minds. Our district does not always come to a consensus, but most of us agree that we need to continue making smart cuts in government spending while we look for new revenue sources. - More...
Saturday AM - March 26, 2016
RE: International coalition calls on BC to include Mount Polley investigation recommendations in mining code By Brent Murphy - I write you with respect to your article ”International coalition calls on BC to include Mount Polley investigation recommendations in mining code”, posted on March 22 on your web site and wish to express my disappointment that this article was posted without a fact check. The NGO’ s in their discussion on the KSM Project, which is owned by Seabridge, presented several inaccurate statements regarding the project. Specifically.... More...
Saturday AM - March 26, 2016
The Importance of Giving Through Pick.Click.Give By Nina Kemppel - The next several days are critical for hundreds of nonprofits across Alaska. Why? As we approach to the March 31st deadline to file for your Permanent Fund Dividend, we move closer to the time most Alaskans will Pick.Click.Give to organizations that serve critical needs here in Alaska. - More...
Saturday AM - March 26, 2016
Part 2: “OIL COMPANY” WALKER, “OIL CAN” ORTIZ AND OIL COMPANY SOCIALISM By David G Hanger - As Alaska citizens we are all the victims of one of the most incredible crimes that has ever been committed, and indeed it is ongoing. We have been ripped off to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in the last two years alone. This crime, this scandal, already exceeds in value by a considerable margin Teapot Dome and all the financial scandals of the Grant and Harding administrations. This is conceivably the largest financial crime in the history of the United States. Our elected officials don’t even want you to believe it is a crime, they are so complicit; but if this is not a financial crime, nothing is. - More...
Saturday AM - March 26, 2016
The Trump Wrecking Ball By Donald Moskowitz - Trump could win the Republican nomination, but lose to Clinton in the general election. He might severely damage the Republican Party, and adversely impact Republicans in Congressional and state races. His un-American campaign of political violence and hooliganism is reminiscent of 20th century Nazi and Communist dictators. - More...
Saturday AM - March 26, 2016
RE: Donald Trump By Marvin Seibert - After reading some of the facts that Mary Lynne Dahl stated in her anti-Trump letter of March 19th I must point out some overlooked facts. - More..
Tuesday PM - March 22, 2016
“OIL COMPANY” WALKER, “OIL CAN” ORTIZ, AND OIL COMPANY SOCIALISM PART 1 By David G Hanger - By 1981 when the revenue agent stopped by he was pushing 80 strong, but still every year summer came around and off he and the wife were once again to the Yukon or the Klondike, where the nights are short and the legends long. And every year he would spend $50,000 to $80,000 on his mining operation, and every year he reported to the IRS -0- income, generating a massive loss that offset his wife’s and his other income sources, and got him a $10,000 to $15,000 a year refund. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 22, 2016
The Ortiz Citizen budget poll By A. M. Johnson - An open letter to Representative Dan Ortiz regarding his survey inquiry in today's mail on how to address the budget shortfall. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 22, 2016
The Ketchikan School District Needs to Stop Spending By Megan Heaton - There have been some comments made at the Ketchikan Borough Assembly meetings recently about how great the schools in Ketchikan use to be. Mainly there was the hot lunch program and a school nurse. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 22, 2016
ROADSIDE DAFFODILS By Jerry Cegelske - North end residents were treated to some roadside daffodils on Sunday and Monday morning as the Dixon Entrance Chapter of the Society of American Foresters did their regular cleanup of mile 6 of the North Tongass Highway Sunday morning. The Chapter regularly cleans their section of road every three months or so, collecting the accumulated trash and keeping their mile clean. Thank them for their dedication when you have the chance. They do a fantastic job keeping this area clean. - More...
Tuesday PM - March 22, 2016
Donald Trump By Mary Lynne Dahl - I have recently become concerned about some statements being made by Donald Trump in his bid for the US Presidential ticket. He has built a campaign on repeatedly claiming that “the US doesn’t win anymore”, “China and Japan are killing us on trade” and “Illegal immigrants are pouring over the border”. He has also said that he “cannot release his federal income tax return because it is being audited by the IRS”. Although I do not generally offer political comments during an election, I challenge the accuracy of these statements and feel compelled to comment on them as untrue. - More...
Saturday AM - March 19, 2016
Happy 6th Anniversary to the Affordable Care Act! By Susan Johnson - In terms of significance, the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 is often compared to the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The ACA grew out of advances in coverage provided by Medicare and Medicaid—in fact, President Teddy Roosevelt first proposed a national health insurance program in 1912! We celebrate over 100 years of healthcare progress in 2016. - More...
Saturday AM - March 19, 2016
Alaska PFD By Norma Lankerd - First of all, I do not like the idea of Governor Walker wanting to dig into the Permanent Fund to help bail out Alaska. He is acting like Mr. Obama, thinking money grows on trees, so spend, spend, spend. I myself say NO DO NOT TOUCH THE PERMANENT FUND, already pay out of it to run different parts of Alaska and the administration. - More...
Saturday AM - March 19, 2016
Ketchikan's Safe Home Service in Jeopardy By Gigi Pilcher - Never, in the 40 year history of WISH, has it been placed on probation. This is an extremely serious action taken by the State of Alaska and the membership is questioning how this happened and what is being done about it. Ketchikan's safe shelter and services that WISH has accepted public funds to provide are essential to helping victims of domestic violence become survivors. The continuation of these services are now in jeopardy. -More...
Tuesday AM - March 15, 2016
YOUR ALASKA DRIVER’S LICENSE AND THE REAL ID By Pamela Goode - My research began trying to determine if the DMV was actually using facial recognition software for the new Driver License (DL) photograph and if so, why? To me, this would be a violation of privacy rights if confirmed. Apparently, DMV chooses to call it “image verification” but it’s the same thing. Most people are not aware of this because DMV is deliberately not telling you, unless you ask. So what happens to the people who refuse to give them their facial biometric data? As of now, right or wrong, you don’t get a license. - More...
Tuesday AM - March 15, 2016
KGBSD Slush Fund? By Chris Elliott - Hate to be a nitpicker, but if Ms. O'Brien's letter is strictly her opinion and doesn't represent the opinion of the School Board, why does she identify herself as the President of the School Board? - More...
Tuesday AM - March 15, 2016
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