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Monday
October 28, 2013
Thomas Basin
The Thomas Basin project was completed in 1931. And just where did Thomas Basin get its name? Over this there is some disagreement.Captain Walter Thomas arrived in the then tiny village of Ketchikan around 1890. In 1921 Walter, a civic-minded man, was elected to the Ketchikan City Council where he brought up his favorite topic: the need for a boat harbor and mooring facilities. If Ketchikan wanted to progress and grow, he said, the town needed a harbor for the fishing fleet. He suggested that Ketchikan Creek be dredged and a breakwater built for this purpose. Since Walter Thomas first proposed the idea, it is likely Thomas Basin was named for him. But that's not certain: Some folks claim the harbor was named for Ashton Waylon Thomas, who packed fish and sold herring on the old "Thomas Dock" just off Stedman Street. From: Pioneers of Southeast: A Tale of Two Men Named Thomas By Louise Brinck Harrington
Front Page Photograph By CARL THOMPSON ©2013
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Southeast Alaska: New Study Shows Saving Tongass Old Growth Can Happen in Just Five Years - A new report prepared by Oregon-based Mater Ltd., using updated Forest Service timber acreage and age class distribution data, shows that the agency could complete transition to supplying a second growth logging economy in Southeast Alaska within 5 years.
In May 2010, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a framework to transition away from old growth logging on the Tongass National Forest, something the Forest Service said it believed could be done “quickly.” Early this month, Forest Service officials announced their “focus on identifying the timber base suitable to support a transition to young-growth management, in a way that supports the continued viability of the forest industry in Southeast Alaska.”
The Mater report shows such a transition could take place in as little as 5 years, shifting exclusively to previously logged stands of second growth, in the current land base already designated for logging and close to existing roads. Along with logging and manufacturing infrastructure adapted to work with small diameter logs, the transition would require changes to rules about how soon second growth stands can be cut. The report also recommends an aggressive regime to research and identify new value-added lumber grades and products to meet existing market demand.
According to Catherine Mater, the key to shortening the transition time was in using updated 5-year increment data about the amount and age of second growth in Tongass areas classified for logging and close to existing roads, and in understanding that mills designed to process second growth work efficiently with supply that closely resembles logs from 55-year old timber stands in southeast Alaska, not 90-year old stands that are currently harvested.
Mater said, “We were surprised by how much 55-year old second growth volume could be obtained to offset old growth logs in the Prince of Wales region, and that the transition could be notably accelerated if the administration adopts policy changes on when younger forests can be re-harvested.”
Mater conducted the report as an update to one the company prepared for Oregon-based Geos Institute last year, looking at possible entry into second growth markets for Sealaska Corporation. The updated Mater analysis was undertaken to provide an accurate assessment of whether sufficient 55-year old second growth volume exists within targeted Tongass National Forest ranger districts in the Prince of Wales (POW) sourcing region to allow the Forest Service to replace current old growth logging with timber from its own readily available second growth, on a sustainable basis. Such a transition could also create market opportunity for second growth volume potentially supplied from other land holdings in Southeast Alaska in the future such as Sealaska Corporation.
The Tongass rainforest is one of the world’s last remaining intact temperate rainforests. It supports the most abundant salmon fishery on earth and stores vast amounts of carbon important in climate regulation. Decades of old growth logging eliminated nearly all of the largest trees, and the remaining old-growth forests are vital to the region’s salmon and subsistence economies. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
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Alaska: Pioneer Natural Resources Announces Sale of Alaska Subsidiary to Caelus Energy Alaska for $550 Million By MARY KAUFFMAN - Governor Sean Parnell welcomed the news Saturday that Caelus Energy has entered into an agreement to purchase Pioneer Natural Resources’ Alaska subsidiary. Caelus, a privately held exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, is expected to invest $1.5 billion in Alaska over the next six years.
"This announcement is great news for Alaskans and our economy,” Governor Parnell said. “Alaska is no longer an afterthought when companies look at places to invest. We can look forward to continued growth and more companies investing in our state. The More Alaska Production Act [SB 21] is already leading to new jobs and opportunities for Alaskans. Simply put – it’s working.”
James C. Musselman, President and CEO of Caelus Energy Alaska LLC, stated, “We are excited to enter the North Slope through the purchase of Pioneer’s assets. The current Pioneer Alaska team is very impressive and has the experience to develop the significant resource potential they have identified and help us grow the business in the future."
Musselman said, "We are attracted to Alaska because of the enormous geologic opportunity as well as the incentives, such as SB 21, that the state has put in place to encourage energy investment by independent oil and gas companies.”
However, the Alaska Democratic Party described as Orwellian the Governor's claim that the new company’s arrival is testament to the success of SB 21. The Alaska Democratic Party stated in a news release, in fact Caelus was taking advantage of a fire sale after Pioneer Natural Resources fled Alaska following passage of Parnell’s Oil Giveaway.
Pioneer was Alaska’s first independent producer and started producing oil from the Ooguruk field under the previous oil tax system known as ACES. On Friday, Pioneer Natural Resources announced that the Company has entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Caelus Energy Alaska LLC to sell 100% of the equity in Pioneer’s subsidiary, Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska, Inc., for cash proceeds of $550 million, subject to normal closing adjustments. The transaction has an effective date of October 1, 2013 and is expected to close by the end of the year.
The sale of Pioneer’s Alaska subsidiary is expected to result in a noncash loss of approximately $350 million which will be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013. The financial and operating results related to Pioneer’s Alaska activities will be reflected as discontinued operations for the quarter ending December 31, 2013, and for all prior periods that will be presented in the Company’s December 31, 2013 Form 10-K. Net production from the Alaska subsidiary averaged approximately 4,000 barrels oil equivalent per day over the first nine months of 2013. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
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Ketchikan: Director of International Missions To Talk About El Salvador Volunteer Opportunities - Twice a year volunteers from Ketchikan travel to El Salvador with colleagues from PeaceHealth and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace (CSJP) to provide health care in rural communities.
This joint health care mission started in January 2001 in response to an urgent need, according to the PeaceHealth mission of “promoting personal and community health, relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and caring way.” During their time in El Salvador, PeaceHealth and the CSJC caregivers join local doctors to provide cataract surgery and general medical treatment in rural communities.
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely packed country in Latin America. Salvadorans, particularly those in rural areas, have suffered severe hardships as the result of civil war. Just less than a quarter of rural residents have access to safe drinking water and only a third can rely on adequate sanitation services. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
National: NOAA announces end of traditional paper nautical charts - NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, which creates and maintains the nation’s suite of over a thousand nautical charts of U.S. coastal waters, announced major changes ahead for mariners and others who use nautical charts. Starting April 13, the federal government will no longer print traditional lithographic (paper) nautical charts, but will continue to provide other forms of nautical charts, including print on demand charts and versions for electronic charting systems.
“Like most other mariners, I grew up on NOAA lithographic charts and have used them for years,” said Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “We know that changing chart formats and availability will be a difficult change for some mariners who love their traditional paper charts, but we’re still going to provide other forms of our official charts.”
Since 1862, those lithographic nautical charts -- available in marine shops and other stores -- have been printed by the U.S. government and sold to the public by commercial vendors. The decision to stop production is based on several factors, including the declining demand for lithographic charts, the increasing use of digital and electronic charts, and federal budget realities. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
Education: Senate Finance Education Subcommittee Seeks Public Input During Two-Day Meeting on Oct. 29th and 30th - The Alaska Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education and Early Development is asking for public comments. The Committee plans to meet on October 29th and 30th at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office to complete its series of interim meetings, this time focusing on different options offered at state schools and the future direction of education in Alaska.
“I think it is time we hear from parents, teachers, students and others involved with our education to see what they think about our education system as it is now, and what type of educational system the public wants to see in the future,” said Committee Chair Senator Mike Dunleavy.
Anyone who is interested is asked to submit comments to Senator Dunleavy at Sen.Mike.Dunleavy@akleg.gov or call his office at (907) 465-6600. The public is also invited to comment during next week’s meeting. Public testimony will start at approximately 4:15 on each day.
On October 29th, the meeting will start with presentations on how one state became a top performing state and from a Canadian province whose education system is now ranked at the top. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013 |
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 No More Traditional Paper Marine Charts By Michael Moyer -
The Federal Government recently announced it will stop printing Marine Navigation Charts this April. I find this to be another example of the absurd logic prevailing in our modern society. We foolishly believe everyone has an i-Phone, expensive electronic GPS plotters or has a lap top in their possession at all times. We have become so dependent upon our electronic devices we have no concept of how vital something like a paper marine chart can be. We cannot possibly conceive of the failure of our devices or the need for anything else. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
Will there be Halloween on Jackson? By Kristen Gilliard -
As Halloween creeps closer, I wanted to confirm if anyone has any information about Jackson Street being closed becuase of construction? My daughters and I, like many other families, traditionally "treat" throughout the Jackson Street neighborhood. If Jackson is closed, I am in need to make other holiday arrangements! - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
Open Letter: Affordable Care Act By Michael Singsaas, MD; Rob Lieberson, MD; Colleen Murphy, MD; Peter Mjos, MD; Leif Thompson, MD; Joseph W. Vargas, DDS; Paul D. Forman, MD; Diane Maythorne, ANP-C; Emily Kane, ND, LAc; Norman Thompson, MD; & Burt Vanderbilt, MD - As medical professionals in Alaska, we are writing to correct the record with respect to the Affordable Care Act. As you probably have noticed, interest groups from Outside are running numerous, misleading television ads about the Affordable Care Act. Given the incredible amount of money being spent on these ads, we hope this letter plays a small role in providing accurate information about implementation of the Affordable Care Act, particularly as the Marketplace opened on October 1st. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
Ketchikan International Airport By Marvin Seibert -
Time for a little chuckle with all the problems Washington D.C. is causing the citizens of this great country. Recently there was a list of world's most thrilling airports and our very scenic airport in Ketchikan made the list. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
For an exciting landing try Sitka By Alan Rudolf (Rudy) McGillvray -
The people who decide the exciting landings for airplanes must not have gone to Sitka, where the tail of the plane landing is over the water at High Tide, when the wheels hit the tarmac, and when the plane finally stops, the nose of said jet plane is hanging over the far end of the runway. I would say that makes for an exciting landing every time, and I've done that a few more times than desired. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
Sealaska's need of a new CEO By Dominic Salvato -
As many of "facebook's" Sealaska Shareholders Underground (SSU) members know and I hope Sitnews readers understand, SSU doesn't want Sealaska to fail. Sealaska Shareholders Underground suggests we change from a resource extraction corporation to a Motion Picture and Television Studio based in Juneau or Ketchikan. One that would be creating a new Alaskan Industry to benefit all Alaskans with Sealaska's people involved at every level. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
RE: Shutdown was orchestrated... By Duane Hill -
Oh, I'm certain that every National Park keeps a printer able to create signs on 2'x3' sheet of plywood. Complete with a dark brown back ground. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
RE: IRS Tea Party Scandal By Paul Jarvi -
Getting rid of the IRS is Mr. Brooks' solution to helping the Tea Party. How do you solve funding our national government, the military, social security, and other functions of the government that you rely on in your daily life? - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
Float plane Follies By James O'Neill -
Ketchikan is the child of prostitution and smuggling so it should come as no surprise that it is steeped in scandal and corruption. Long before I arrived, environmental concerns shut down the the town's primary industry. Hardworking loggers and pulp mill workers were forced out and a new industry grew out of the modern gold rush of tourism. The transition was slow and painful but the new revenue revitalized a depressed economy. - More...
Monday PM - October 28, 2013
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