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SitNews - Stories In The News - Ketchikan, Alaska
July 27, 2012
Friday

Front Page Photo By CARL THOMPSON

Herring Cove: Bears at Play
You can't outrun a bear. They have been clocked at speeds up to 35 mph.
Front Page Photo By CARL THOMPSON ©2012
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy without permission and/or payment of required fees.)

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Alaska:
Efforts Underway to Fix Excise Tax Issue for Air Taxis (SitNews) - Alaska’s Congressional Delegation is working to clarify the excise tax structure for small air taxi operators in Alaska. U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) filed a bill Thursday, co-sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), to help small taxi operators with an inconsistent application of excise taxes by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is drafting companion legislation in the House.

The bill clarifies the exemption for charter and on demand flights.  Current law contains an exemption for small aircraft operating on “non-established lines,” but ambiguous tax regulations and inconsistent applicability of this exemption have caused confusion within the aviation community as to when this exemption applies.  The bill would clarify that non-scheduled charter flights to or from areas not connected by paved roads qualify for the non-established lines exemption.

The bill would also specify that the current exemption for sightseeing flights is not negated by intermittent stops to view an attraction, as is common practice for many Alaska flightseeing trips.

Several small Alaska air carriers, who have been battling the IRS over the taxes, in some cases for years, came to the delegation members asking for help with the issue. Alaska air taxi operators contacted Begich’s office in recent months after IRS agents started reinterpreting long-standing practices regarding payment of certain aviation excise taxes. The operators reported being threatened by the agents with more serious actions if the air taxi operators questioned the IRS tactics and applications of the rules and regulations.

In June, Sen. Mark Begich sent a strongly-worded letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner questioning the reported tactics of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against Alaska air taxi operators. In the letter, Begich criticized the IRS for inconsistent application of aviation excise taxes as well as the interpretation of exemptions for small air taxi operators. Begich said the IRS is trying to retroactively collect taxes, which threatens the viability of several small air taxi operators in Alaska.

Begich requested a meeting with Geithner or the appropriate IRS representative to discuss the issue and the Alaska Congressional delegation met recently with IRS officials and discussed the issue.

“After discussions with the Department of Treasury and the IRS, I think everyone involved will benefit from language clarifying this particular section of the tax code,” Begich said.  “This bill would make the tax structure clearer for both air taxi operators and IRS auditors by making the tax code more consistent with the FAA’s definition of charter and on-demand operations. It’s about fairness for small businesses trying to comply with a complex and unclear tax system.” - More...
Friday - July 27, 2012


Fish Factor: Got bait? By LAINE WELCH -  Fish scientists need 305,000 pounds of semi brite chum salmon for this year’s halibut stock surveys. The bait is staged at more than 1,200 stations between Oregon and the Bering Sea for use by up to 15 survey boats each June through August.

 “We typically buy from sometimes up to 6-7 providers in any given year. We look for the best possible price and the best staging arrangements,” said Bruce Leaman, executive director of the International Pacific Halibut Commission which staffs the annual stock surveys.

Bait is one of the most expensive parts of doing the annual halibut surveys, and increasing chum prices have boosted costs to as much as $450,000 in recent years. That has prompted a search for less pricey fish products that might work just as well.  

“Last year we did a pilot study with herring, pollock and pink salmon and compared it to chums.  We found that herring was the worst so we dropped that, and pinks performed about the same as chum salmon,” Leaman said. Typically, the boats use two sets of roughly 100 hooks with  test bait along with four sets of the chums.

 “The interesting thing from that experiment was that pollock ended up having a higher catch rate for halibut above 32 inches, and it also had lower catch rates of Pacific cod and spiny dogfish, which would be bycatch in our survey.”

This year the new baits will be tested alongside the chum salmon at every survey area.

 “It’s very important that if we ever make a change in the bait that we understand how it works in all the areas where we are doing the surveys,” Leaman said.

IPHC scientists will do analyses on the bait tests this fall, and there are no plans to make any bait changes for next year, Leaman said.

“We may have a recommendation for 2014,” he said.

Deadline to submit a bait bid is August 3. - More...
Friday - July 27, 2012


Alaska: New Regulation Allows Transgender Persons To Correct Gender On Alaska Driver's License; Eliminates Requirement To Undergo Surgery (SitNews) - Alaska Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell has filed a new regulation that governs changes to driver’s licenses and will allow transgender individuals to correct the gender marker on their licenses without undergoing major surgery.  The regulation takes effect August 11. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alaska had challenged the surgery requirement as a violation of an individual’s right to privacy.

“We appreciate the work of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Lt. Governor’s office in crafting a regulation that recognizes the important and legitimate needs of transgender Alaskans,” said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska. “All Alaskans must be able to obtain a driver’s license that accurately reflects their gender and avoids disclosure of sensitive personal information unrelated to their ability to safely drive a motor vehicle. The government should never needlessly intrude into mandating specific medical procedures.”

The ACLU filed its challenge in April 2012 on behalf of a transgender woman, K.L., whose United States passport and work documents all identify her as female. After initially securing a change to the gender on her driver’s license, she was told that her new license would be revoked unless she submitted proof of having surgery.

In March 2012, the court ordered the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles to produce an appropriate regulation for transgender people within six months, warning that the agency must consider the constitutional implications of any future rules.

“I am humbled and grateful for this decision,” said K.L. “It is my prayer that this victory will make a difference in the lives of transgender people.”

Many transgender persons are treated for a condition called gender dysphoria. Although the American Psychiatric Association agrees that surgery is medically necessary treatment for some, it is not required for everyone with the condition. Treatment for gender dysphoria varies from individual to individual, and many can be effectively treated without surgery. - More...
Friday - July 27, 2012


      

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letter Drinking Burned Garbage By Shelley Stallings - Thank you Kathy Doyle. I continue to be amazed when I see people burning garbage. This form of air pollution is bad enough by itself, but when you add the fact that almost all of us outside of the city limits drink water which is collected from our roofs, it becomes really scary. As you noted there are many synthetic chemicals in much of the garbage that is burned. This ends up on our roofs, then into our cisterns. - More...
Monday - July 23, 2012

letter Voter Turn out By Ken Lewis - 7% turn out is sad, so here is my dumb solution. Alaskans get oil revenue money. If you want your Permanent Fund check, Vote. - More...
Monday - July 23, 2012

letter RE: Too Many Lifeguards By Kevin Gadsey - I am responding to Ms. Teal's question about having too many lifeguards at the pool. She must have come to the old Smithers Pool when the newly-hired lifeguards were training side-by-side with the experienced lifeguards. At the Smithers Pool, they usually had 3-4 guards for both pools combined. - More...
Monday - July 23, 2012

letter RE: "Too Many Lifeguards" By Larissa Otness - I am in shock that someone would question the amount of lifeguards and they're importance to the safety of our children. - More...
Monday - July 23, 2012

letter Ketchikan Gas Prices By Mike Wilson - Just a friendly note to let people know that the gas prices at Lighthouse Tesoro are 30 cents cheaper per gallon than what I observed yesterday in town. - More...
Monday - July 23, 2012

letter Mail-borne Ballots By Hunter Davis - As long as the elections office can verify that the ballot was filled out and mailed by the registered voter it was addressed to, fine. But there is a reason I do not use my street address for mailings. I've watched people walk by my steps and look in the box. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

letter Peace & Tranquility? By Richard Rold - I live in an area in the Ketchikan Borough that is very beautiful, and once was peaceful, and quiet; that is why I moved here from town in the first place. Over the years the peacefulness, & the quiet, has gradually subsided; now it can be anything but peaceful. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

letter Burning Garbage By Kathy Doyle - To the people of Mile 10-11 North Tongass: Here it is a lovely warm summer night when it is so nice to open the windows and have a nice breath of fresh air. Instead you start to cough, cough, choke, gag on some one's disgusting trash smoke coming into your home. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

letter 19th Nervous Breakdown By Chris Elliott - I'm not an expert on the healthcare law. Who is? After reading Mr. Spence's letter, I did a tiny bit of research. When the House passed the legislation sent to them by the Senate, the vote was 219 for and 212 against. 34 Democrats voted with all the Republicans. That's a pretty darn close vote for legislation that affects so many Americans and is such a big percentage of our economy. A recent Rasmussen poll (July 13-14) indicates that 52% of Americans favor repeal of the law and 42% oppose repeal. Again, pretty close. This is a VERY controversial issue. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

letter Mail In Ballots By Connie Williams - It is with a smile that I read the letters regarding the recent Ketchikan bond vote, and a whooping 7% return. How sad that such a small portion of the population was interested in what was being voted on, it should be in everyone's interest when it's going to cost you come property tax time. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

letter Too Many Life Guards? By Charlotte Tanner - I just had to respond to the letter asking if 4 life guards is too many at the small pool. - More...
Tuesday - July 17, 2012

letter Election Chaos Puts Ketchikan in Political Peril By John Harrington - The on-again, off-again State election district boundaries have created disarray and political danger particularly for Ketchikan. - More...
Saturday - July 14, 2012

letter Congress' Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown By Michael Spence - The most recent action of our US House of Representatives to repeal the Health Care Act reminds me of that Rolling Stones song about a spoiled adolescent who cannot reason: - More...
Saturday - July 14, 2012

letter Too many lifeguards? By Audiene Teal - I recently made a trip to our Ketchikan swimming pool with my family. We have children so we spent a lot of time in the kiddie pool so they could play and splash around. Now I know it is for our own safety to have lifeguards at the pool but there were four lifeguards that day at our little swimming pool. I felt it was in excess. - More...
Saturday - July 14, 2012

letter MAIL BALLOT THE ONLY CORRECT VOTING SOLUTION By Pete Ellis - Michael Spence has certainly "hit the nail on the head" in terms of local election needs and results.  The mail ballot is the only solution in terms of determining what the local voting residents really want. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

letter 4th of July Fireworks By Catherine Brown - Thank you to all those who put together the festivities for the 4th and especially the fireworks display. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

letter “Oh, you’re so negative” By David G. Hanger - There is something particularly juvenile about the attitude that you can judge some other person, “Oh, you’re so negative,” and thereby invalidate anything that person might say. In the article that you were criticizing so harshly I actually discussed that local inclination briefly. Thus my simple observation that your ignorance has precluded the possibility that you begin to comprehend the fact that everything you said is far more negative than anything I have said. It even has a word or label by which it is called: nullification. It’s the old slay the messenger game because you don’t have the guts to deal with the message. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

letter Thank You By Sandy James- The Ketchikan Seventh-day Adventist Church would like to thank the community for supporting our Fund Raiser for a Sound System.  Shamburgers (veggie burgers) and Homemade Pies were a HUGE success. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012 

letter Thank You & Before the fireworks start By Ken Parks - I was at the fireworks display this fourth and was suitably impressed by the display, not so much from the locals shooting off roman candles as it was over my kids and almost at them a couple of times. This ironically enthused my kids and they still had a great time... I wanted to thank the City of Ketchikan and their workers for a great display, making it a fun and enjoyable as well as memorable event for my family. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

letter Whale watching By HelgaOhmer Ohmer - On Saturday morning (June 30), I enjoyed watching a big pod of killer whales going down the channel. I counted at least 12. All the boaters got out of the way, enjoying them from the distance. But not so for the two tourist outfits who turned around to get closer than comfort just for the sake of picture taking clients! - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

letter Spins & Facts By Paul Jarvie - Charley, thank you for your information. As a concerned voter you have taught me to check the facts for myself. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

letter A patch to grind??? By Joey Garcia - Bill Meck "Road" caption in the Jun 25 issue sure has something to reckon with. I think you should not go far inside the hillsides of Ketchikan to wrangle up enough spirits of something like what Bill was pointing about. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

letter Comeuppances By A. M. Johnson - Hummm, It would appear that I have been corrected by readers. I accept the comeuppances. Yet, there is good from this. The fact that these executive orders produce the wrong sided intent is made apparent. Kennedy, Bush, Obama whom ever. The bottom line is many of these executive orders affects the Constitution's intent of guarding against over bearing government intrusion or violation of our freedoms and rights under the Bill of Rights and the Constitution itself. - More...
Monday - July 09, 2012

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