October 1, 2019 Ketchikan Local Election This is the 17th year, SitNews has provided FREE unfiltered web exposure to all local Ketchikan candidates to tell the voters why we should elect you. Tell your possible future constituents about your background, work experience, qualifications for the position, etc. Please send a photo. Links to your contact and social media page accepted: Email to editor@sitnews.us Submit Your Statements By: 09/15/19 The sooner the better; absentee voters may vote as early as 15 days prior to the Borough election - absentee voting begins Sept. 16th. Last day to register to vote in the local election is September 1, 2019. Ketchikan Borough Mayor Candidates 3 Year Term, 1 Seat Open Rodney Dial Filed 08/05/19 Candidate's Statement 08/27/19 Sidney Hartley Filed 08/08/19 Candidate's Statement 08/31/19 Michelle O'Brien Filed 08/23/19 Candidate's Statement 09/03/19 Borough Assembly Candidates 3 Year Term, 2 Seats Open Austin Otos Filed 08/01/19 Candidate's Statement 08/28/19   David Landis Filed 08/01/19   Jeremy T. Bynum Filed 08/26/19 Ketchikan School Board Candidates 3 Year Term, 2 Seats Open Bridget Mattson Filed 08/06/19 Candidate's Statement 09/05/19   Jordan Tabb Filed 08/20/19 Ketchikan School Board Candidates 1 Year Term, 1 Seat Open Leslie Becker Filed 08/15/19 Candidate's Statement 08/29/19 Hilary Kvasnikoff Filed 08/16/19 Candidate's Statement 08/27/19 Paul Robbins, Jr. Filed 08/16/19 Candidate's Statement 09/02/19   Kathleen Yarr Filed 08/23/19 Ketchikan City Council 3 Year Term, 2 Seats Open   Lew Williams III Filed 08/05/19   Judy Zenge Filed 08/05/19   Spencer Strassburg Filed 08/26/19 Ketchikan: Public Meetings Ketchikan: Upcoming Events Ketchikan: Announcements Ketchikan: Classifieds CLASSIFIEDS Publish Your Ad Click Here Historical Ketchikan June Allen Dave Kiffer Louise B. Harrington Ketchikan Weather Ketchikan's Forecast August Daily Records 2019 July: Daily Records 2019 Ketchikan July 2019 Data Ketchikan June 2019 Data Ketchikan May 2019 Data Ketchikan April 2019 Data Ketchikan March 2019 Data Ketchikan Feb. 2019 Data Ketchikan Jan. 2019 Data Nat Weather Service KTN Ketchikan Tides & Currents Sunrise - Sunset Ketchikan Search the News Ketchikan Alaska

Fish Factor: ADF&G to Decide Where & How Budget Cuts to Fisheries Will Play Out By LAINE WELCH - Now the shuffling begins at Alaska fisheries offices around the state as the impacts from back and forth veto volleys become more clear.

For the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, an $85 million budget, about half of which is from state general funds, reflects a $997,000 dollar cut for FY 2020. Where and how the cuts will play out across Alaska’s far flung coastal regions is now being decided by fishery managers.

“Now that the salmon season is about over we’re taking a good close look at this and what we’re going to put in the water next season. We’ve been assured we can look at our commfish budget in total and reduce the lowest priority projects,” said Doug Vincent-Lang, ADF&G commissioner. 

Some layoffs are likely and vacancies and retiree positions may not be filled to save money, he added.

“We’ll be consolidating different groups across the state in an effort to keep as much as we can going that is mission critical in terms of work out in the field. Because the less information we have the more precautionary we’ll become in our management,” he said. 

Governor Dunleavy’s vetoes for commercial fisheries included $258,000 for surveys and stock assessment in Southeast, $240,000 in Southcentral, $300,000 from the AYK Region, and $200,000 from the Westward Region. 

A possible list includes doing fewer or shorter surveys on Bering Sea juvenile Chinook salmon, and relying on fewer weir or sonar trackings for sockeyes at the Susitna River drainage. Test line fisheries at Cook Inlet might be shortened and Tanner crab surveys at Prince William Sound could get the axe. Salmon weirs at Kodiak and Chignik may be reduced along with various groundfish stock assessment projects.

Also cut by 50 percent were state travel funds for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and all ADF&G divisions, except for members of advisory committees (ACs) to the Boards of Fisheries and Game.  

“The AC travel appropriation was not vetoed with credit to the governor for seeing the value of the local citizens involvement,” said Rick Green, special assistant to the commissioner. “I’m told it will be tight but we think we can still manage the meetings.”

The funding for directors of the state habitat and subsistence divisions (about $400,000) was rolled into the Office of Management and Budget, but their functions remain under the ADF&G. 

Vincent-Lang said he opted to not fill those positions and instead make the two divisions into “sections” to be able to retain more staff.

“I probably would have lost two permitters out of habitat and two staff members that go out and conduct community surveys in the subsistence division just to have a director in those roles,” he explained.  “There are deputy operations managers for each of those new sections. The one for habitat reports to deputy commissioner Ben Mulligan and the subsistence section reports directly to me. The functions of subsistence and habitat remain at ADF&G.” - More...
Monday PM - September 02, 2019

Southeast Alaska: AK Governor Nominates Ucore's Bokan as a High Priority Infrastructure Project  - According to Ucore, Alaska Governor Michael J. Dunleavy submitted a nomination letter to the White House Council of Environmental Quality recommending that the Chairman of the CEQ designate the Bokan-Dotson Ridge Rare Earth Project ("Bokan") as a High Priority Infrastructure Project ("HPIP").   

The HPIP program was instituted by the Trump Administration in 2017 as a means of expediting the permitting approval process for projects of key strategic importance to the United States (see HPIP Background, below). An HPIP designation will facilitate an abbreviated permitting turnaround timeline for Bokan, as the Company prepares for a near term Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) review, and transitions the project to a 'shovel-ready' development state.   

In his nomination letter Governor Dunleavy stated the Bokan - Dotson Ridge Project is in the unique situation of having a domestic rare earth metal project located on the shores of Kendrick Bay, Prince of Wales Island, in Southeast Alaska. The project developer, Ucore Rare Metals, has invested significant financial resources since 2007 toward the definition of the deposit, engineering for mine and processing plans, in addition to funding research and development toward a clean, green, separation technology for this critical mineral resource."

An ongoing concern is America's dependency on a non-allied, foreign-sourced metals supply chain to support national defense, green energy initiative, and high-tech product manufacturing.

"The support from Governor Dunleavy and his staff underscores the importance of immediately developing a domestic rare earth element natural resource project and separation plant," stated Jim McKenzie, President & CEO of Ucore.  "This nomination could not come at a better time considering our strategic planning related to the development of the Bokan mine and its Alaska SMC separation plant to contribute to the forthcoming and necessary re-establishment of a U.S. rare earth supply chain, independent of China. Our sincere thanks to Governor Dunleavy for spearheading this important initiative."   - More...
Monday PM - September 02, 2019

Southeast Alaska: Coast Guard member found deceased inside Valdez residence – A Coast Guard member assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur was found deceased inside his home in Valdez, Alaska, on Saturday.

Deceased is Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Frankie Lopez, a 23-year-old male from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Lopez was discovered by Valdez police officers late Saturday evening, who pronounced the individual deceased. 

The deceased was then transported to Valdez and will be sent to a medical examiner’s office in Anchorage. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 03, 2019

Alaska: Lt. Governor Meyer Denies Certification of Better Elections Initiative Application; Initiative found to violate single-subject rule, would force voters into all or nothing approach – Friday Alaska Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer notified the "Alaska’s Better Elections Initiative" (19AKBE) sponsors of his decision to deny certification based upon recommendations from the Department of Law.

According to a letter sent August 30th, the proposed initiative was denied based upon its violation of the single-subject rule as outlined in AS 15.45.040.

“The Department of Law reviewed the application for compliance with AS 15.45.040 and recommends that I decline to certify this initiative on the grounds that the bill violates the single-subject rule,” Lt. Governor Meyer wrote in a letter to the initiative sponsor .“Based on this recommendation, and in accordance with AS 15.45.080, I am denying certification of your initiative application.”

According to a formal opinion issued by Attorney General Kevin Clarkson, the election initiative raised concern of violating the single-subject rule because it would enact three significant changes to democratic processes: establish an open primary, create a ranked-choice general election, and change campaign finance disclosure laws. 

“The single-subject rule serves an important constitutional purpose in the initiative context by protecting voters’ ability to have their voices heard,” wrote Attorney General Clarkson in his opinion to the Lt. Governor. “But 19AKBE, if certified, would force voters into an all or nothing approach on multiple important policy choices, all of which implicate their fundamental constitutional rights in different ways.” - More....
Tuesday AM - September 03, 2019

Ketchikan: Sean Vikram Bhagat MD joins PHMG Pediatrics – Sean Vikram Bhagat, MD is the new pediatrician at PeaceHealth Medical Center. He arrived last week and just started seeing his little patients.

“I love kids,” he said recently. While doing medical school rotations, where students gain insights into medical specialties, he found his niche in pediatrics. “A very sick, asthmatic child needed treatment. Just seeing how quickly he recovered when we were able to open his airways convinced me that taking care of the most vulnerable in our community was where I wanted to focus.” 

For Dr. Bhagat, it is all about community and community service. That has been a touchstone throughout his life.

During his medical residency at the University of Colorado he helped organize and coordinate a program to teach other residents the nuances of school-based health, including Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for children in special education and the unique barriers nurses face in a school setting.

As a student at Tulane University School of Medicine he helped implement and track the Louisiana Lead Poisoning Prevention Program to partner with Women, Infants and Children (WIC, a federal nutrition program) to train its employees on best practices in lead screening.

After graduation from The Ohio State University, Dr. Bhagat taught at Collins Academy High School in Chicago for three years through Teach America. There he stepped out of his chemistry teacher role to be the head debate coach.

“If I wasn’t a doctor, I would be a teacher,” he said.

Quoting a PeaceHealth news release, "We are fortunate he chose pediatrics, and that he, and his wife Shivani, have chosen Ketchikan."

“We were looking for a strong community,” he said.  “Everyone we’ve met here has been very warm and kind.” Shivani Mathur Bhagat is completing her PhD in Economics at the Colorado School of Mines. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 03, 2019

Coast Guard crews assist in dewatering, towing fishing vessel near Ketchikan
Coast Guard Station Ketchikan (left) and Coast Guard Cutter Adelie (center) boat crews assisted in dewatering and towing a fishing vessel that began taking on water near Ketchikan, Alaska, Aug. 28, 2019.  The Adelie crew were able to control the flooding and assisted in towing the vessel to a nearby boat ramp for repairs.
U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo.

Ketchikan: Coast Guard crews assist in dewatering, towing fishing vessel near Ketchikan – The Coast Guard Cutter Adelie and Station Ketchikan boat crews responded to and assisted in dewatering and towing a fishing vessel that hit a rock near Percy Islands last Wednesday.

The Cutter Adelie boat crew arrived on scene at 11:20 a.m., controlled the flooding and assisted in towing the vessel to a nearby boat ramp for repairs.

At approximately 8 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Juneau Command Center watchstanders received a call from the Station Ketchikan boat crew, reporting the fishing vessel Jacklynn May had hit a rock and was taking on water. Sector personnel established communications with the Jacklynn May and confirmed the vessel was in distress with two people aboard.

The watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast, launched the Station Ketchikan crew, diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Adelie to assist and also requested help from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka.

The Station Ketchikan boat crew, aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium, arrived on scene to assist Alaska Wildlife troopers and a good Samaritan vessel, Trident.

The mariners aboard the flooding fishing vessel were found in their life raft and in good condition when rescue assets arrived. The Trident crew rescued them from their raft and took them aboard. 

The water appeared to be entering the fishing vessel through a one-inch hole in the bow. 

At 9:11 a.m., the station boat crew delivered a P-6 pump to the fishing vessel to help remove water, but that pump failed.

"We arrived on scene and two of our crewmembers took two additional pumps aboard the vessel," said Coast Guard Senior Chief Michael Thayer, officer in charge, Coast Guard Cutter Adelie, an 87-foot patrol boat from Port Angeles, Wash. "Once the flooding was controlled, the Coast Guard members stuffed blankets and wedges into the hole to slow the water."

The fishing vessel Ocean Harvester towed the Jacklynn May to a boat ramp at Tent Point on Annette Island. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 03, 2019

Atmospheric rivers sometimes soak Alaska
By NED ROZELL
Administration’s Office of Satellite and Product Operations
This map reveals an atmospheric river that transported immense amounts of water vapor from the tropics to Southcentral Alaska in November 2018.
Image courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Thompson Pass, December 2017: 1.7 inches of snow piles up in 10 minutes. Seven feet of new powder blankets the pass in the next three days.

Ketchikan, December 2013: 23 inches of rain falls in five days.

These Alaska weather events were each the result of a great firehose in the sky that reaches from near the tropics to the far North. Meteorologists call it an atmospheric river.

Scientists have long noted these flood-causing/wildfire-relieving “long, narrow plumes of enhanced atmospheric water vapor.” If you were to study weather maps of the entire Earth today, you would see about 11 atmospheric rivers.

Marty Ralph of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, an expert on atmospheric rivers, described them as drought busters in his state. He also found atmospheric rivers were responsible for seven of eight flood events he studied on California’s Russian River.

When set up and propelled by other weather patterns, water vapor from near the equator flows in wide ribbons hundreds of miles long above our heads. If you sliced a theoretical cross-section from an atmospheric river, it would carry almost three times as much water, in vapor form, as what spills from the mouth of the Amazon River, Ralph said. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 03, 2019

Money Matters: IS THE MARKET DIFFERENT THIS TIME? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Is what is going on in financial markets different this time? Have we entered a new era? Has there been a paradigm shift? Is the old normal gone? Have the rules changed? Are things really different today?

Well, yes. Things are, in fact, slightly different, but only slightly. Just like last time the market dropped precipitously. And the time before that, and countless times before those. There is always a slight difference, but not a major difference. There is not a fundamental difference in this market correction from prior market corrections. The rules have not changed and this is not a new era in which you should abandon your investment strategy altogether (assuming it was sensible and customized to your own goals).

What is happening today to cause big swings in the market is volatility born out of uncertainty. The stock market does not like uncertainty. It reacts to uncertainty with wild swings, jerky ups and downs of buying and selling, speculation and a lot of trading that is based on very short term goals.

Last year, I wrote that the prospect of changing trade policies between the US and other nations, wars in the Middle East and negotiations on denuclearization of North Korea, among other global problems, was causing uncertainty abroad as well as at home. - More...
Tuesday AM - September 03, 2019

TOM PURCELL: Social Security's Looming Shortfall - "Sometimes I worry that if I ever can retire and do get Social Security payments, they'll be a lot less than what I've been promised," I said to my CPA, Louie the Number Cruncher.

"There is some reason to worry, Tommy. According to the Social Security trustees' latest report, the two trust funds that support the program will run out of reserves in 2035. If that happens, beneficiaries like you will get only 80% of the benefits they're owed."

"But I thought Social Security was an insurance program, not a typical government program!"

"Well, Tommy, when FDR signed it into law in 1936, it was considered an insurance program. Workers contributed money to it through income taxes. When they retired, they drew money out."

"So how can the government arbitrarily cut my benefits?"

"The Supreme Court ruled long ago that policymakers could change Social Security's benefit formula to reflect shifting conditions. They can cut benefits anytime, and they've done so many times." - More....
Tuesday AM - September 03, 2019

Political Cartoon: Tragic Repetition
By Jeff Koterba ©2019, Omaha World Herald, NE
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.