Alaska: Staffing Shortages and Overcrowding in State Prisons Could Create Unsafe Conditions, Report Finds - A recent report by the Legislature's non-partisan Audit Division finds that staffing shortages and overcrowding in state prisons may be leading to an increase in assaults on correctional officers and other prisoner misconduct. The report was prepared at the request of Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) after correctional officers complained about unsafe staffing conditions in Alaska's prisons. The auditors examined staffing at four of the state's 12 prisons (the Anchorage Correctional Complex, Fairbanks Correctional Center, Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, and Anvil Mountain Correctional Center in Nome). They found that these four facilities alone were short 17 correctional officers, with the greatest shortage being in Anchorage. A consultant hired by the auditors through the American Correctional Association also noted numerous issues with security post "efficiency and effectiveness" that could require up to 47 additional staff positions or modifications to facility design and operations. "Staff shortages only worsen problems associated with overcrowding, which has plagued Alaska's prison system for years," Senator Wielechowski said today. "When you combine the two, it can create the perfect storm, putting both prisoners and correctional officers at risk." The audit found that overcrowding in the four prisons examined was commonplace. For example, at the Anchorage-East facility, inmate populations exceeded capacity 99% of the time. At the Fairbanks prison, capacity was exceeded 92% of the time. - More... Friday - June 04, 2010

Alaska: State Files Suit Challenging Cook Inlet Beluga ESA Listing - The State of Alaska today filed suit against the federal government to challenge the listing of Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

"It is with a sense of frustration, but also with our resolve to uphold the interests of Alaska, that we're filing suit to hold the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) accountable to its own rules and regulations," said Attorney General Dan Sullivan. "We presented a strong case during the public review process that there is no need to list this species as endangered because of the stabilization of the beluga population and the protection measures already in place. However, despite the validity of the concerns we raised, our comments were discounted or ignored in the federal decision-making process. At a time when we are seeing an increasing use and abuse of the ESA, it is imperative that federal agencies abide by the letter of the law in making ESA designations."

Sullivan said the Department of Law took significant time to review substantial information about how the endangered listing was reached, and reviewed and analyzed the legal requirements for listing the whales under the ESA. "We believe that the agency didn't adequately consider listing the whales as threatened, rather than endangered, rejecting an alternative designation that could have dramatically reduced impacts on our economy."

The Parnell administration also has submitted comments expressing concern about the proposed designation of critical habitat for Cook Inlet belugas, which threatens to stifle economic activity at the Port of Anchorage and potentially even affect national security.

"We have been working with interested stakeholders to make sure that federal regulators understand how potentially crippling the proposed critical habitat designation would be to our economy," Sullivan said. "It is our hope to work cooperatively with the NMFS towards this end. When the final rule is issued, we will take a hard look and carefully weigh our options."

"We support the use of the Endangered Species Act to protect species that are at immediate risk of extinction," said Doug Vincent-Lang, the state's endangered species coordinator. "For example, we supported the listing of the North Pacific right whale, a stock whose numbers clearly demonstrate an immediate risk of extinction, and the associated designation of critical habitat. However, we do not believe that the listing of the beluga whale as endangered is warranted at this time. We simply do not accept that the projected risk of extinction for this stock, which NMFS estimates to be less than 1 percent over the next 50 years, warrants an endangered listing." - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

Alaska: Click It or Ticket 2010: Motorists Face Stepped Up Enforcement - Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities officials announced this week that they are joining with other state, local law enforcement agencies and highway safety officials now through June 6 to launch an aggressive Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign. Police will be ticketing unbelted vehicle occupants around the clock. In Alaska in 2008, 15 died unbelted at night, compared to nine who died unbelted during the day. "Nighttime drivers and passengers continue to be among those least likely to wear seat belts. Consequently, they are also among those most likely to die in motor vehicle crashes. That's why the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is supporting enhanced nighttime enforcement of belt laws during this year's Click It or Ticket campaign," said Commissioner Leo von Scheben, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The department is joining thousands of law enforcement officials, highway safety representatives and safety advocates nationwide who have vowed support of this annual effort to save lives. High-visibility enforcement such as the Click It or Ticket mobilization is credited with increasing the national belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to an observed usage rate of 84 percent in 2009. In 2008 alone, seat belts saved 13,250 lives nationwide. Of Alaskan children five years old and older, 25 were saved by seat belts in 2008. - More... Friday - June 04, 2010

Alaska Science: Augustine Volcano as tsunami generator By NED ROZELL - On Oct. 6, 1883, this entry was in the Alaska Commercial Company logbook at an English Bay trading post, located about 50 miles northeast of Augustine volcano:

"This morning at 8:15 o'clock, 4 tidal waves flowed with a westerly current, one following the other . . . the sea rising 20 feet above the usual level. At the same time the air became black and (foggy), and it began to thunder . . . it began to rain a finely powdered brimstone ash."

Augustine Volcano, which erupted explosively at the beginning of 2006, also erupted in 1883. But there was a dramatic difference. In 1883, part of the mountain tumbled into the sea and caused a tsunami that crossed Cook Inlet and bounced back again.

Because the tsunami happened at low tide in an area with some of the largest tidal ranges on Earth, the sea rising 20 feet was almost the same as if high tide returned early. Researchers think the damage from the 1883 tsunami was limited to some low-lying shelters being flooded and a few kayaks floating away.

The 1883 eruption of Augustine Volcano and the resulting tsunami intrigue Jim Beget, a scientist with the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Alaska Volcano Observatory. He has traveled to Augustine Volcano several times to gather evidence of the 1883 event he read about in the old logbook. - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

Alaska: June is National Congenital CMV Awareness Month - June is National Congenital CMV Awareness Month. Stop CMV, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of congenital CMV (cytomegalovirus), wants to increase CMV's public profile to save thousands of children from disability and death. The "Hands to Stop CMV" Awareness Campaign is aiming to collect photographs of people with "Stop CMV" written on their hand to be posted online for public viewing and voting during the month of June. The photo receiving the most public votes will be featured in public service announcements for Stop CMV. Two guest judges, Andrea Dunham (Creative Director for Women's Health magazine) and Luke Duval (Fashion, Beauty, and Celebrity Photographer) will select additional winners. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that 1 in every 150 children is born with congenital CMV. CMV is the most common congenital (meaning present at birth) infection in the United States and is the most common cause of birth defects and disabilities, including deafness, blindness, cerebral palsy, mental and physical disabilities, seizures, and death. CMV is a common virus, present in saliva, urine, tears, blood, and mucus, and is carried by 70 percent of healthy infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children who contract the virus from their peers. About 60 percent of women are at risk for contracting CMV during pregnancy, posing a major risk to mothers, daycare workers, preschool teachers, therapists, and nurses. - More... Friday - June 04, 2010

Alaska: National 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results released; Alaska youth less likely to smoke, but more likely to chew tobacco - The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released yesterday the results from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Results are based on the 16,410 high school students that were randomly selected from across the country to represent high school students nationwide. In addition, results from 42 states and 20 cities that conducted separate YRBS surveys (including Alaska) can be found at www.cdc.gov/yrbss .

"One piece of good news for Alaska is that our teen smoking numbers have decreased over the years to the point where they are now below the national average," said Patty Owen, YRBS coordinator for the state. "Alaska youth are still more inclined to use smokeless tobacco than their national counterparts, which is a challenge we continue to face."

The data indicate progress in many areas, but show the need for continued resolve in combating some unhealthy behaviors.

"Dating violence, although just slightly higher than the national average, is unacceptable at any level," Owen said. "We're pleased to see the progress made in many areas, and committed to continuing our work where the numbers show we need to improve."

KEY FINDINGS:

In general the prevalence of risk behaviors of Alaska high school students was very similar to youth nationally.

The following are statistically significant differences between Alaska and U.S. youth. (In statistics, a result is called statistically significant if it is unlikely to have occurred by chance. "A statistically significant difference" simply means there is statistical evidence that there is a difference; it does not mean the difference is necessarily large, important, or significant in the common meaning of the word. For the purposes of the 'Alaska 2009 and United States 2009 Results' document, comparisons for which the p-value is .05 or smaller are considered statistically significantly different from one another.) - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

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Library Location: Ballot initiative By Chris J. Herby - It seems that here in Ketchikan there always needs to be a divisive issue to keep everyone from getting bored. This year's issue appears to be the location of the proposed new library. - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

Library Location By Nathan Brooks - There are many generations of my family living in Ketchikan. There are always issues in any community which cause conflicts and differing opinions. However, Ketchikan is reaching a level of constant conflict which is making it difficult for me and mine to want to live here any longer. - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

Ketchikan City Council and private business By Charles Edwardson - I would like to retract any statements about the Ketchikan City Council meddling and intervening in the private sector. I criticized them for meddling and intervening in a cab company's request to invest their own money to improve their own business, - More...
Friday - JUne 04, 2010

Bill Walker for Governor By Lawrence "Snapper" Carson - As Alaskans we have a lot to be thankful and grateful for. What a beautiful place to work, play and live. Its stewardship should be of utmost importance to all us. We have the opportunity this year to elect a governor who has the interest and ability to make Alaska a better place for all Alaskans. His name is Bill Walker, he was born in Alaska and has worked and raised his family as a life long Alaskan. - More...
Friday - JUne 04, 2010

Memorial Day By Joel W Jackson - This past Monday my family and I had the honor of attending Ketchikan's Memorial Day services at our local cemetery. It is a tradition that my mother passed on to me and I have tried to pass on to my children. - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

Crab Question By Mike Moyer - To answer Chris Snyder's' question: Yes there are legitimate concerns over the handling of crab by the commercial fleet during the summer months and increased mortality occurs during this time. It is known that simply handling crab causes stress and increases mortality. Handling crab during the summer months during molting and mating increases that mortality even more. The numbers of crab handled by commercial boats would obviously be greater than sport fishers because they are using more pots and trying to target more crab. - More...
Friday - JUne 04, 2010

Real Men By Al Johnson - My comment to Representative Ethan Berkowitz, "Real Men do not KILL Babies". - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

Re: Dopey Mushers By Alan R. (Rudy) McGillvray - What a wonderful thing is propaganda. Mr. William R. Hearst launched a propaganda assault against hemp (marijuana by another name) because he could make paper more cheaply using wood pulp instead of hemp pulp. He and Harry Anslinger of the FDA, (a tool of a tax and spend rich Democrat, J.P. Morgan, who was Sec. of the Treasury at the time) saw a way to turn a whole class of people into criminals. So they all launced a propaganda campaign against Pot, hemp, marijuana, and managed to turn public opinion, against a mostly harmless substance, that did not even approach illegality or harmfullness of heroin, but through their propaganda campaign, managed to turn it into something even more powerful than heroin. Peoples' perception. - More...
Friday - June 04, 2010

Commander-In-Chief Went AWOL By Donald A. Moskowitz - As a Navy veteran, I am appalled President Obama, our Commander-In-Chief, did not lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day 2010. Instead, he went on vacation. - More...
Tuesday PM - June 01, 2010

Library Location By Chris Elliott - It would be interesting to know what the community's reaction was when the new high school was built at the top of that huge hill "out the road" (Fourth & Madison). -More...
Tuesday PM - June 01, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill By A.M.Johnson - Just a thought. Do you suppose that Cletus and Barney, a couple of rednecks, hold the solution to cleaning up the oil spill? - More...
Tuesday PM - June 01, 2010

Slow moving vehicles By Kim Morton - Just wanted to post a rant about the slow moving eclectic golf carts that I have ran into out south and now out by Wal-Mart. I am pretty sure these cars need to stay in town and seeing them driving down the road when it's supposed to be 50 mph is frustrating to say the least. - More...
Tuesday PM - June 01, 2010

Illegal Immigration Healthcare Costs Affect YOU! By Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D. - The national spotlight is on Arizona for doing what the Federal government and previous Governor Napolitano refused to do: rein in an invasion of illegal aliens bankrupting our state (Arizona). At an August 2009 healthcare Town Hall in Phoenix, legislators said that more than half of Arizona's 4 billion dollar budget deficit was the result of paying for three areas of services to illegal immigrants: education, healthcare, and incarceration. - More...
Tuesday PM - June 01, 2010

Oil Spills as an Opportunity... By Donald Lee Struthers - What an opportunity. With the April 2010 oil spill situation in the Gulf of Mexico comes several opportunities. - More...
Friday - May 28, 2010

Dungeness By Chris Snyder - There is something very telling in Mr. Gossman's letters regarding the summer dungie fishery. Apparently he thinks that a crab cares WHICH user group harvests him. This simply is not the case. A crab is a fairly simple critter. He doesn't have the ability to look around at the boat deck he is on and say "sure am glad I got caught by this sport fisherman, or retired visitor, or whomever instead of", gasp!, "someone trying to make a living". - More...
Friday - May 28, 2010

Location of Library By Rita Leighton - I understand the library needs more room - but wouldn't it be much simpler to just move the museum out to a different location - possibly somewhere next to the cruise ship docks? There is a vacant lot between the Federal Building & the Logging Show, and that would give the library room to expand in its current, convenient location. - More...
Friday - May 28, 2010

FY2011 Capital Budget By Senator Bert Stedman - Governor Parnell has indicated that he intends to veto a significant number of projects in this year's Capital Budget. That would be a mistake. - More...
Wednesday - May 26, 2010

Government Regulation By R.K. Rice - DEROY MURDOCK's column "Era of unlimited government arrives" stated "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business," President Calvin Coolidge told journalists in March 1929. - More...
Wednesday - May 26, 2010

Tax Heroes By Michael Spence - I have read with great interest the stream of letters coming to Sitnews about our high taxes and how to avoid them. - More...
Monday - May 24, 2010

Where are your taxes going? By Jean Griffin - Taxpayers, where are your dollars going? - More...
Monday - May 24, 2010

Parking Carnival By George Miller - Can you hear the calliope music as the parking carnival gets underway? Do people working downtown set an alarm clock so they know when to trot about looking for a place to park, thus possible avoiding the inevitable ticket? Is it worth ten bucks to not miss a sale during the season, and just roll over and pay? - More...
Monday - May 24, 2010

Great Library Site By Gay D. Peters - The best place to have the new library is Copper Ridge. I drive and it's almost impossible to find a parking space and now there will be plenty of spaces available. - More...
Monday - May 24, 2010

Library By Robert McRoberts - Over the last few years living in Ketchikan, I think our Borough government has been improving -- maybe from knowing and liking most all working there. With that said, I feel the city is just nuts. Why do we need this library? Where is your planing here? you have no place to build it, no thought at all in the area you select for the site. You get a good deal on the site, but what is the site? Have you dug holes yet? Yet that area is under development. It's going to have some kind of construction activity there for 30 years. Go ahead, put people out of work so you can have quiet. The only good thing I see about putting it there is the jail can let people check out books. - More...
Monday - May 24, 2010

Dwindling Fish Stocks By Carol Baines - It's estimated that seven out of ten people on the planet depend on fish as their primary source of nutrition. According to the experts, at the rate the seas are being degraded due to over-fishing and pollution, in approximately 40 years there will be no more fish. This all spells trouble --- a catastrophe for our future generations, our children and grandchildren. Fish provide roughly 40 per cent of the protein consumed by nearly two-thirds of the world's population. For example, over a billion people throughout Asia depend on fish and seafood as their major source of animal protein. Here in Alaska we have enjoyed our salmon, halibut, red snapper, et al. and don't want to see the stocks diminish or be contaminated. - More...
Monday - May 24, 2010

Recent posts regarding pool By Zig Ziegler - I appreciate Sitnews and the forum it provides for healthy discussion of our community's issues. I truly appreciate it when there is disagreement amongst posts that remains civil and to the point, rather than a personal attack, while addressing different opinions. - More...
Friday - May 21, 2010

Do Not Participate By Lloyd Gossman - Please do not participate in the sale or purchase of Dungeness Crab caught by Commercial fisherman during the summer in Southeast Alaska. This fishery is scheduled to open June 15th, 2010. - More...
Thursday PM - May 20, 2010

RE: Dopey Mushers By Dale Albertson - Well all be! WOW! Would someone please inform John that users of "dope" of this sort does not produce hallucinations? Talk to almost all street cops John, they would much rather deal with a person influenced by THC, which is the active ingredient in Cannabis, than to deal with a drunk. The person on "pot" there I said it, just gets the munchies and wants to lay down and go to sleep. Drunks are seldom non-violent, cause many accidents and deaths annually. I have dealt with both types hundreds of times in my many careers going back to early 70's, and the results have never differed except for the amount of violence one person can perpetrate on another when drunk. I have never in my long career had to deal with a violent pot head. Oh, and no I am not nor have I ever been a user of pot. I have observed a person on pot function and be a contributing productive member of society, and am always amazed, having been fed the same falsehoods you seem to have latched onto. - More...
Thursday PM - May 20, 2010

Re: New Pool By Chris Barry - Poor silly people. Do you honestly believe that if something benefits you, that it benefits the community as a whole? You need to wake up. I have never said I oppose replacing the pool. I understand it is needed for many activities in this community and that the current facilities would be too costly to repair correctly. - More...
Thursday PM - May 20, 2010

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