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Monday
September 08, 2014
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Lower Beaver Creek Falls
A recent photograph after a heavy rain.
Front Page Photo By CHARLES HABERBUSH ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Fish Factor: Shunning the Fisheries Debate By LAINE WELCH - “Surprised and disappointed” was the reaction by U.S. Senator Mark Begich upon learning that his opponent Dan Sullivan has bowed out of an October 1 fisheries debate in Kodiak. It is the second time this year that Sullivan has declined to participate in the Chamber of Commerce event that has been an election year tradition since 1990.
“I can’t recall a time that a candidate has not participated in the Kodiak debate,” Begich said as he readied to head back to DC on Friday. “It’s a must do for statewide candidates. It’s not an option. It’s clear he doesn’t have the same Alaska values as we do when it comes to our fisheries, and I think he is doing an incredible disservice to Alaskans. But that is his MO. He avoids issues, only shows up at very controlled settings, and talks in bumper stickers and applause lines and that’s all he likes to do.”
Sullivan campaign manager Ben Sparks told debate organizers that Sullivan does not have a prior commitment keeping him from the fisheries debate, but that “he is just too busy with all the traveling he is doing.” The two hour debate is broadcast live to over 330 Alaska communities.
“I think it’s a shame because Alaskans will miss out on a forum that focuses on the largest employer in the state,” Senator Begich added. “Seafood is our biggest export by far and nearly 85 percent of all the fish caught in Alaska comes from waters that are under federal jurisdiction. If you can’t even have a debate, how do Alaskans know where he stands?”
Sullivan already has a reputation for shunning Alaska media and was criticized last week for avoiding a debate on Native rights issues in Juneau.
“The Alaska way is to debate fiercely, discuss, find solutions to challenges, and move forward. It is not to abandon, run, hide and not talk to people who might disagree with you,” Begich retorted. “You have to show up in order to work together. He is unwilling to talk about issues that are important to Alaska, and leaving thousands of Alaskans wondering where he stands.”
The fisheries debate will go on, said Trevor Brown, executive director of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.
“We have pre-sold lots of sponsorships and lined up all the radio stations. Senator Begich will be there, and hopefully, other third party US Senate candidates. We also are talking about adding an hour for US House candidates Don Young and Forrest Dunbar if both can make it,” Brown said.
History shows that since 1990, no candidate who has skipped the Kodiak fisheries debate has gone on to win their election. Case in point: Sean Parnell vs. Don Young in 2008. - More...
Monday PM - September 08, 2014
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Alaska: Governor Continues to Press For ANWR Exploration - The State of Alaska is putting pressure on the federal government to consider an exploration plan in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
According to a release from Governor Sean Parnell’s office, the State of Alaska today filed a motion for summary judgment in its ongoing litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska to order the federal government to allow exploration inside the coastal plain or “Section 1002” area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The motion challenges the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) refusal to consider the State’s carefully developed geophysical exploration plan for the coastal plain. The State’s plan, developed under the direction of Governor Parnell, complies with existing federal law authorizing the gathering of up-to-date scientific information about the oil and gas resource potential of the coastal plain.
“The State must pursue litigation with Washington to explore ANWR because the information that will be gained from our plan is invaluable to both Alaska and the United States as a whole,” Governor Parnell said. “Our legal position is strong, and the national interest is best served by understanding what hydrocarbon resources underlie the coastal plain, and how they could support our economic and energy security. We will not give the federal government a free pass to choke Alaska’s economic development.”
In the motion the State asserts: Exploration of this area was mandated by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and is authorized by the plain language of law today. Conversely, the Obama administration has claimed that the FWS has no authority to review the State’s plan, and therefore has refused to consider it.
The State’s exploration plan was submitted to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in July of 2013 and complies with all existing FWS regulations. The plan calls for using advanced three-dimensional seismic imaging to provide the people of Alaska and the United States with valuable information about the extent and accessibility of the significant oil and gas resources in the 1002 area. - More...
Monday PM - September 08, 2014
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Alaska: More Progress on Alaska LNG Project - The Alaska LNG Project reached another milestone with its formal request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin the pre-file process for the natural gas project. In doing so, the project triggers FERC’s National Environmental Policy Act permitting process.
Alaska LNG project sponsors filed Sept. 5 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin the lengthy environmental and safety review required for federal authorization to build and operate the proposed $45 billion to $65 billion project that includes a pipeline across Alaska and a liquefied natural gas plant at Nikiski.
The Sept. 5 filing with FERC requests that the commission "issue authorization for the project no later than July 2018."
According to the pre-filing, construction would start 2018-2019 and operations could begin 2024-2025.
Governor Sean Parnell welcomed the news and also announced today the State of Alaska and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation regarding the Alaska LNG Project and other natural resource development opportunities in Alaska.
“This agreement is yet another key milestone in the State’s rapid advancement of the commercialization of our world-class North Slope natural gas resources – to Alaskans first and then to markets beyond,” said Governor Parnell, noting that Japan is the world’s largest importer of LNG.
Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash and METI Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Commissioner Takayuki Ueda signed the agreement on Sept. 8 in Tokyo.
“It is an extremely positive development that the government agency that sets Japan’s energy policy and works closely with Japan’s utility market has taken a strong interest in the Alaska LNG Project and the State’s overall natural resources portfolio,” Balash said.
The sponsors are North Slope producers ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP, as well as pipeline company TransCanada and the state of Alaska. The companies estimate a cost of $45 billion to more than $65 billion (in 2012 dollars) for the project that includes a massive plant to cleanse produced gas of carbon dioxide and other impurities; an approximately 800-mile pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to the liquefaction plant; and an LNG plant, storage and shipping terminal at Nikiski, 60 air miles southwest of Anchorage along Cook Inlet. - More...
Monday PM - September 08, 2014 |
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Columns - Commentary
JEFF LUND: Enjoying new firsts - You can still have firsts, even if you’ve done something before.
I thought about this in depth before my plate of chorizo and eggs arrived, and well after the plate was clean and the coffee cup empty.
I’ve taught high school students before. But it’s different in Alaska.
I’ve been to high school football games before. But it’s different in Alaska. Just about every game in California I had to watch from the snack bar since the boys basketball coaches ran it. So Friday, other than the game itself, the best part was not having to serve chili cheese potatoes to hungry customers or do math to make change.
I have been frequently asked how the adjustment to my new town of Ketchikan and new school is going. When I say I grew up on Prince of Wales, the assumption is it’s easy because I know what it’s like around here. Which I do, but like I said, it’s different now. I’m not 17. I have a load of responsibilities I didn’t when I was in high school, but thanks to where I am as an adult I have a load of possibilities for new firsts too. - More...
Monday PM - September 08, 2014
WILL DURST: How They Spent Their Summer Vacation - September is a grand month for traditions. Fresh pencils and tablets for the upcoming school year. The approach of fall as evidenced by the turning of the leaves. International Talk Like a Pirate Day on the 19th. The official start to the NFL season with the filing of the first domestic abuse charge.
It is also when we welcome our elected representatives back from the grueling recess they are forced to spend fund- raising in their home districts. The time when they finally come back to work. Or rather back to a busy schedule of non- work. Back to ducking all the important issues in the manner of 535 totally oblivious plastic Whack- A- Mole rodents during a power surge.
Hopefully they did find some time to relax, because in even numbered years, the post Labor Day period marks the bare knuckles return of the American political process playoffs; with elections less than 2 months away, looming like a gorilla on steroids in the pantry. - More...
Monday PM - September 08, 2014
JOE GANDELMAN: Life, Liberty and the Right of a Child to Fire an Uzi - The news made many Americans do a double-take. Wait a minute: this news story says a 9-year-old girl accidentally killed her gun instructor while he was teaching her to use...an Uzi? An UZI?! One of those Israeli-designed compact sub automatic machine guns? That gun that can fire 600 rounds per minute? It just had to be a bad joke.
But it wasn't a joke. It was a tragedy -- and a sign of the times.
"All right, full-range auto," the AP reports instructor Charles Vacca, a 39-year-old Army veteran, told an unnamed girl during a session on how to use an Uzi. The gun's kickback, apparently surprising the little girl, then shot Vacca through the head. And so it goes: two families now devastated, and a young girl now destined for therapy sessions for years.
What happened next (sigh) fit the usual pattern. - More...
Monday PM - September 08, 2014 |
Political Cartoon: NFL
Domestic Violence Penalties
By David Fitzsimmons ©2014, The Arizona Star
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
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 Opportunity in Alaska House District 36 By Gavin Hudson - Redistricting has once again changed our political landscape in southeast Alaska House District 36, which now includes Metlakatla, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Saxman, Hydaburg, Meyers Chuck, Hyder, and Loring. But with change comes opportunity! We have the chance to elect a new representative to the Alaska State House. Independent Dan Ortiz is my ideal choice for this office. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 09, 2014
Shamful Ad By Pat Abney - When I sit down to watch my evening news these days, I am bombarded by the shameful ad from American Crossroads that accuses U.S. Senator Mark Begich of not paying women fairly. That ad is just another example of outsiders being willing to do or say anything to buy Alaska’s Senate seat, no matter how far from the truth it is. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 09, 2014
Ballot Measure 2: Vote No on Legalization of Marijuana By Kalie Klaysmat- Recent reports from Colorado law enforcement indicate that the legalization of marijuana has not reduced illicit sales on the black market there as proponents had predicted. In particular, black market dealers continue to sell to youth, and Lieutenant Mark Comte of the Colorado Springs Police Department vice and narcotics unit reported to the Associated Press that marijuana legalization has “done nothing more than enhance the opportunity for the black market”. The Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP) is concerned that Alaskans are being misled about the potential impacts legalized marijuana would have on law enforcement, public safety and the street market in Alaska. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 09, 2014
Our Most Valuable Resource By Dan Ortiz - September 1st marked the national observance of Labor Day, a day to take stock and remember our blessings. We live in a country and state with abundant resources. As great as our natural resources are, the most valuable has always been our human resources. From colonial times, to the late 1800's, till today, it’s our human resources that have been the backbone of economic growth in this country. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 09, 2014
Political Correctness? By A. M. Johnson - A news article has confirmed my paranoia each and every rare time I fly. Have you noticed as you disembark Alaska Air in SeaTac that the cleaning crew consist of full bodied black dressed Muslim women who scurry about unsmiling and downward looking? I have and ask myself, “What a perfect set up to plant bombs on an aircraft. These women are the last persons to have access to the plane before departure”. - More...
Tuedsay AM - September 09, 2014
Time for a fair tax By Beverly Martin - Advocating the FairTax HR25 as an economic issue underestimates the impact of the FairTax HR25 on liberty.. The FairTax HR25 defunds and disbands the IRS. This is why politicians, think tanks and lobbyist oppose FairTaxHR25. The IRS has silenced, threatened and raped the wealth of America for over one-hundred years. The fear of an audit has silenced Americans, organizations and corporations. The wasted money spent on compliance is just that: wasted. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 09, 2014
Why I Graduated from the Flat Tax to the FairTax By James M Bennett - Mr. Eldridge's letter (September 3, 2014) calling for a 10% "tithe" tax is a variation of the flat income tax from which I have graduated. While a flat income tax would be an improvement to today's tax code, there are seven principal reasons why the FairTax(R) is a better idea. The FairTax(R), to recap, replaces Subtitles A, B, and C of the Internal Revenue Code with a national tax on all services and all new tangible goods sold at retail to a consumer in the United States - no exceptions. The rate is 23% tax-inclusive (30% tax-exclusive). - More...
Tuesday AM - September 09, 2014
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