 Contact 
Call 617-9696
Webmail
Letters
News Tips
Copyright Info
Archives
Quick News
Search
Alaska
Ketchikan
SE Alaska
Alaska News Links
Columns
- Articles
Dave Kiffer
Fish
Factor
Money Matters
Historical
Ketchikan
June Allen
Dave
Kiffer
Louise
B. Harrington
Ketchikan
Arts & Events
Ketchikan
Arts
Ketchikan
Museums
KTN Public
Library
Sports
Ketchikan Links
Public Records
FAA Accident Reports
NTSB
Accident Reports
Court Calendar
Court Records Search
Wanted:
Absconders
Sex Offender Reg.
Public Notices
Weather,
Webcams
Today's
Forecast
KTN
Weather Data
AK
Weather Map
AK Weathercams
AK Earthquakes
TV Guide
Ketchikan
Ketchikan
Phone Book
Yellow
Pages
White
Pages
Government
Links
Local Government
State & National
|
|
Friday
October 10, 2014
|
Lunar Eclipse
Photographed Wednesday morning from Ketchikan's Forest Park area, Wednesday's lunar eclipse created a 'blood' moon. According to EarthSky.com, more people are using the term 'Blood' Moon to describe the four full moons of a lunar tetrad. Here’s the definition of a lunar tetrad: four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons). According to EarthSky.com, there’s no obvious reason why 'Blood' Moon should be associated with this term - Learn more, click here...
Front Page Photograph By JORDAN MORALES ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: Alaska Construction & Maritime Career Days Visits Ketchikan - Agencies will joing forces on Monday, Oct. 13th in Ketchikan to provide career and technical education opportunities for students at the Alaska Construction Career Days & Maritime Trades. The event will provide an opportunity for high school students to explore the diverse careers related to the construction and maritime trades industry.
Hosted by Vigor Alaska, this event provides an opportunity for high school students to explore and interact with industry experts as they learn about career paths within the construction industry.
Approximately 200 students from Prince of Wales Island, Metlakatla and Ketchikan are expected to attend. The sessions will last from 8:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Joining forces to provide this event, the 2nd Annual Southeast Alaska Construction Career Day, are the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Vigor Alaska, University of Alaska Southeast Marine Tech Center, Ketchikan Indian Community Southern Southeast Alaska Technical Education Center, and Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District. - More...
Friday PM - October 10, 2014
Fish Factor: Ballot Measure 4: Gives Alaska Voters Their Say On Protecting Salmon at Bristol Bay By LAINE WELCH - A ballot measure to protect salmon in Southwest hasn’t grabbed as many headlines as pot and campaign politics. Ballot Measure 4, sponsored by the group Bristol Bay Forever, asks voters to give the Alaska legislature final say on any large oil, gas and mining projects in the 36,000 square miles of the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve.
The initiative does three significant things to the existing reserve, said Dick Mylius, a former state director for the Division of Mining, Land, and Water.
“It adds large scale metallic mines to things requiring legislative approval, it broadens the geographic area to include the entire drainage including uplands, and it also applies to state, private, and federal lands within the reserve,” Mylius said at a recent forum hosted by Alaska Common Ground in Dillingham.
The proposed Pebble Mine, he said, would take a direct hit if the ballot measure passes.
“Pebble is within the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve, it would be greater than 640 acres, and it is a large scale metallic sulfide mine. So if this (ballot measure) passed, it would require that the legislature approve the Pebble Mine at the end of the permitting process,” Mylius told KDLG.
The Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve was created in 1972 as a way to safeguard salmon from oil and gas development. Legislative approval would add another layer of protection, said Anders Gustafson, Director of the Renewable Resources Coalition.
“In the end, there’s no one saying, ‘you’ve got this permit to dredge here, you’ve got that permit to build this road,’ but where is the permit that says should we do it at all?” Gustafson said. “I see the “could” permits, but where’s the should?” Is this going to have a bad effect overall, is this the right thing to do in general? There is no end result that evaluates the impacts of all these permits together.”
Mining engineer Richard Hughes argued that the Alaska legislature doesn’t have the authority to regulate permits.
“They could have the right to designate a special area, no question about it, “Hughes said, “but I think moving the approval process to the legislature is a separation of powers issue, and a usurpation of the authority of the state administrators.”
Regardless, Alaska voters will have their say on protecting salmon at Bristol Bay at the polls on November 4. - More...
Friday PM - October 10, 2014
|
|
Alaska: Western State Officials call for Transfer of Federal Land to States – The growing movement in Western states to transfer public lands to state control could help reinvigorate Alaska's forest industry and make Alaska more competitive in attracting Arctic investment, Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell told the American Lands Council during a summit in Salt Lake City Wednesday.
Federal Owned Land is in Red
Graphic courtesy American Lands Council
Treadwell joined a 12-person delegation of Alaskans including Rep. Wes Keller, as well as members of Alaska's Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Federal Areas, which Keller chairs. Representatives of the Alaska Department of Law and the Department of Natural Resources also attended the two-day meeting with officials from 13 Western states.
Utah, Idaho, and Nevada have passed legislation seeking, demanding or studying transfer of federal land within their boundaries to state control, in order to gain equal treatment with states to the East which received most federal land. The American Lands Council is coordinating efforts throughout the West to facilitate the transfer campaign. Utah has called for a formal interstate compact to bind states together to address this issue.
Treadwell told delegates that Alaska's legislature passed SCR 2 earlier this year, which asked Congress to put National Forest Service acreage from the Tongass National Forest into the Southeast Alaska State Forest to provide a long-term timber supply for logging and value-added industry. At Statehood, according to the resolution, Alaska was barred from selecting more than 400,000 acres in Alaska national forests to save land for long-term federal timber supply contracts. In the mid-1990's, the federal government limited those contracts, leading to the closure of two pulp mills and a major sawmill in Southeast Alaska.
Treadwell also noted that Alaska's Arctic neighbors, including the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories, and Greenland have received almost complete control of federal or "crown" land within their boundaries during the last decade, while Alaska struggles for access to explore federal land in the Arctic both east and west of state North Slope lands near Prudhoe Bay.
"It's hard to compete in attracting investment to the Arctic when our neighbors can offer greater regulatory certainty and access than we can," Treadwell said. "We should be filling the Alaska pipeline, not dithering – as the Interior agencies have – over exploration on the North Slope. - More...
Friday PM - October 10, 2014 |
|
Alaska Science: Fire on the mountain near the Yukon River By NED ROZELL - A smoking mountain near the Yukon River not far from Eagle is, after further study, still a puzzle.
An aerial view of the Windfall Mountain Fire with the Tatonduk River in the background.
National Park Service photo by Linda Stromquist
People first noticed acrid smoke in September 2012. The mountain has been steaming ever since, even through the coldest days of winter. Scientists thought a likely cause for the smoldering mountaintop was an oily rock deposit that somehow caught fire.
Linda Stromquist, a geologist for the National Park Service, has been trying to untangle the mystery of the Windfall Mountain Fire that burns above the Tatonduk River. She is one of few people to set foot on the warm flank of the mountain.
Stromquist and other professionals looked at geologic maps of the area and guessed the mountain might have a base of flammable oil shale that would explain the smoking. She grabbed a few samples of rock during a two-hour trip to the mountain in a helicopter.
"The pilot was worried about clouds of sulfur dioxide, and so was I," Stromquist said. "It was hot and steamy and smelly, kind of volcano-like."
Carl Stapler, a ranger at nearby Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, called Windfall Mountain "the Yukon-Charley volcano." Though he was joking, the steaming hill could pass for a summit surrounding the Valley of 10,000 Smokes.
Windfall Mountain is not a volcano, Stromquist said. What is it then? Windfall Mountain is not feeding a coal seam fire, common throughout the world and recorded in Healy and a few other spots in Alaska. Coal can burst into flames with nothing more than the heat of the sun.
The samples Stromquist plucked during her visit to the mountain haven't helped explain the fire.
"Why is it continuing to burn when our samples show not-remarkable levels of organic carbon [like coal and peat]?" Stromquist said. "And there's no obvious combustion mechanism, either." - More...
Friday PM - October 10, 2014
|
|
Columns - Commentary
TOM PURCELL: Exploring Christopher Columbus - "Dad, why does America celebrate Columbus Day?"
"Well, Billy, in 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Europe to America and founded the very first European settlement in the New World. His arrival marks the beginning of America as we know it."
"But didn't he discover America by accident, dad?"
"Columbus believed the Earth was a sphere. He thought he could reach the Far East by setting off on a westward course. Though he stumbled upon what is now the Bahamas by accident, he was still a successful explorer, Billy."
"Successful, dad, or a racist oppressor?"
"Pardon me, son?"
"When Columbus came to America, he brought with him the greed of the white European males who subsequently colonized America for the dough. They fought and killed the Indigenous Peoples who were already here and took their land and their gold. Columbus eventually died a very rich man."
"Well, Billy, an unfortunate part of human history involves countries invading their neighbors to take control. This has happened in many parts of the world, including Europe, which has a long history of war. But remember that Indigenous Peoples were also prone to war and fighting to expand their control well before Europeans arrived."
"Well, Columbus is also responsible for many germs and diseases that Europeans brought to America, causing untold suffering and death among the people who were here before us."
"Have you been drinking too much caffeine lately, Billy?"
"America's history of environmental destruction can also be laid at Columbus' feet, dad. As soon as the Europeans colonized America's pristine lands, they cut down the trees and plowed up the fields. Can you say soil erosion, dad?"
"Son, did I ever tell you that you take after your mother's side?"
"And what about slavery? It was the Europeans who created a flourishing slave trade in America. They did it to develop the land cheaply, so they could make giant profits. Columbus even made slaves out of some of the Indigenous Peoples who attacked him and his men."
"Son, do you remember where your mother hid the bourbon?" - More..
Saturday AM - October 11, 2014
|
Political Cartoon: Minimum Wage
By Milt Priggee ©2014, www.miltpriggee.com
Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
|
Viewpoints
Commentary
Opinions/Letters
Basic
Rules &
Freedom of Speech
Questions, please contact
the editor at editor@sitnews.us or call 617-9696
Sitnews reserves the right to edit.
 Walker: My 30-year history driving LNG projects vs. Parnell’s recent epiphany By Bill Walker - Gov. Parnell's assertion that I would derail the Alaska LNG export project if elected governor are simply not true. I've spent decades pursuing plans with the same goal, and I don't intend to stop if Alaskans choose me. - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Failure of the Board in 2014 Election By Raymond E. Austin - At every Sealaska corporate election, the board uses the Sealaska Bylaws to vote themselves into their board seats with the discretionary bylaw. In 2014, the Sealaska Board failed to follow their own bylaws, and by doing this, they have violated the shareholders trust, and their fiduciary trust that they are sworn to uphold. - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Why Bill Walker is the Best for Alaska By Mary Lynne Dahl - I have never written a public letter in support of a political candidate, but I am doing so today because I believe Alaska is facing some extremely critical issues that require the strength of character and leadership that only one candidate offers us. That candidate is Bill Walker. The critical issues facing us as Alaskans are deficit spending by our state government and the cost of energy in our state. Under Sean Parnell, Alaska is spending $7 million per day more than we are bringing in, which will eliminate our state savings account entirely in about 6 years. This is unacceptable. - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
I'm Voting for Chere Klein By Renee Schofield - I’m a small business owner with operations throughout Alaska. I’m voting for Chere Klein and I want to share why. - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Vote for Dan Sullivan By Chris J. Herby - Lately it sure has been obvious that it is election season in Alaska. I think it is exciting to see what an important role Alaskan politics actually plays in Washington DC. Our race for U.S. Senator is certainly getting a lot of attention as well as lots of advertising funded by outside interests. I must weigh in with a few comments of my own. - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Re-elect Senator Mark Begich By Eric Jordan - Recently I was asked about the US Senate race in Alaska. In a race dominated by millions of dollars of ads, it might be a breath of fresh air for individual Alaskan’s to share their perspective. Here is mine: I have been voting in Alaska since the 70’s and have had the opportunity to support great Alaskans from both parties like Jay Hammond, Dick Eliason, and Bill Egan.
- More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Ebola By John Suter - I sent this to the CDC. Is anyone asking these questions? I heard on the radio that letters, packages and cargo from West Africa may have Ebola on it and anyone who touches it will get Ebola. What is being done about this? What is being done about ISIS who may send letters to America with Ebola on it? - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Bring Back "Made in America" By David Boone - John F. Kennedy said, “The largest single barrier to full employment of our manpower......and to a higher rate of economic growth is..... federal income taxes.” Ronald Reagan said, “Our federal tax system is, in short, utterly impossible, utterly unjust and completely counterproductive… it has earned a rebellion and it’s time we rebelled.” - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Kayhi Coach By Debby Ward - Well said Ken Arriola, I'm appalled at what they have done. - More...
Thursday AM - October 09, 2014
Open Letter to Ketchikan School Board & Kayhi Administration By Ken Arriola - So, basically, in following the development and building progress of the Kayhi football program through the years, I've come to appreciate the success of the program despite the seemingly insurmountable hurdles that an athletic program has to endure in order to succeed and become firmly established. The achievements of Kayhi's football program, in my view stands alone, in the realm of student activities, as the example of what hard work, commitment, and sacrifice can and will produce. - More...
Sunday PM - October 05, 2014
Feds treat Ebola like a hangnail By Charlie Freeman - I do not understand how the U.S. leaders can poo poo the potential threat of a pandemic. If they're trying to prevent panic, they're doing a poor job of it. My self, I'd feel more secure if I saw some effort at containment. Aparently none of the "highly trained" people ever read a history book. The Black Plague was too far back for these people to think about, but the world wide influenza epidimic of the early 1900's should be close enough for a look. This was a time of coal fired steam ships. Most travelers would have died weeks before they got here. And yet the virus arrived and killed an untold number of Americans. You only need to go to Villiage Island or old Klinkwan to see the results. Two or three children buried in the same grave, parents beside them. That's just local. Nation wide, it was worse. World wide, it was horrible. - More...
Sunday PM - October 05, 2014
Tax dollars wasted By Ed Plute - As a candidate for Ketchikan city council ,I will vote to reverse the approved rate increases for the Ketchikan Ports and Harbors budgets 2013 and 2014 totaling 14%, with another 7% that is to be collected in 2015 for a total of 21% the already collected money should be return to the people who paid it. These rate increases should NEVER have been approved by the city council, the highest rate increases in the USA KPU borrowed millions dollars from Ports and Harbors funds, my question is WHY??? I have attached the original city documents that were sent to me under the US Federal Government, Freedom of Information Act. - More...
Sunday PM - October 05, 2014
Increases in Obamacare Costs Explained By Susan K. Bell - In the next few weeks, many Alaskans will be informed of significant increases in the cost of their health insurance. While the degree of increase may surprise some, others will remember that many analysts predicted that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, would be anything but affordable. - More...
Sunday PM - October 05, 2014
Mark Begich and fisheries By Bonnie Demerjian - Political campaigns (and when is there not a political campaign these days?) tend to generate more heat than light. Therefore, it's important to look for facts before voting. Senator Mark Begich has a significant record of support for Alaska's fisheries and deserves the vote of all who recognize the importance to our state of maintaining this critical resource. - More...
Sunday PM - October 05, 2014
Vote Independent - Walker and Ortiz By Peter Stanton - If there’s anything present American politics teaches, it’s that the party system has failed us. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have been able to set the country on the right track. It’s no wonder George Washington, James Madison, and other Founding Fathers were opposed to political factions. When it comes to balancing budgets, protecting good jobs, making smart healthcare decisions, providing for children’s future, and so many other issues, we need leaders who can move beyond partisanship and rigid ideologies. - More...
Sunday PM - October 05, 2014
Pro Begich By Marge Hays - I have a great idea. Let's vote for the candidate who clearly states what fits your hopes for a democratic society. For instance, do you want a super efficient decision- making process such as indicated by SB77? This bill was withdrawn after public outcry. It had advocated for the Natural Resources Commission to quickly and privately decide what Alaskan resources could be used and under what conditions. If having decisions made this way is your picture of democracy, Dan Sullivan is your man. - More...
Sunday PM - October 5, 2014
Alaskans Deserve a Fix for Obamacare By U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski - It has now been more than four years since then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi explained to Americans why she had to push the health care reform bill through in such a rush: “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in the bill … and get away from the fog.” - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
Cook Inlet gas: a remarkable comeback By Governor Sean Parnell - For those who love comeback stories, it is difficult to find a better example than Cook Inlet. - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
Veterans' Needs Must Come First By U.S. Senator Mark Begich - Oct. 1 marks an anniversary many of us prefer to forget — the start of the 16 day partial government shutdown of 2013. Among the disruptions caused by the shutdown, work stopped on more than 250,000 veterans’ disability claims awaiting appeals, burials at national cemeteries were scaled back and vital medical and prosthetic research projects were threatened. Had it continued a couple weeks longer, even veterans’ disability compensation checks might have stopped. - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
No to the legalization of marijuana By Brad Johnson - On behalf of our membership, the Alaska Peace Officers Association (APOA) State Board writes this letter in opposition to the legalization of marijuana. We offer our take on the legalization of marijuana’s impacts to Alaska financially, medically, and from a societal impact. Then we will provide an overview of issues that have arisen in Colorado. - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
CHOICE AND LACK OF CHOICE; DO NOT VOTE IF THERE IS NO COMPETITION By David G Hanger - The local elections this year present something of a contrast. No choice at all at the Borough; a bunch of re-treads and a small bunch of newbies at the City. Ed Plute assures me the newbies are ready to fire Karl Amylon and his clique of sycophants. Vote for the newbies and hold them to that pledge. The alternative is no senior citizen tax exemptions and a sales tax rate of 10%. - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
Open letter to Ketchikan City Council and Candidates By Rob Holston - In July of 2013 the Ketchikan Daily News carried a story re: Cleveland’s Ariel Castro pleading guilty to imprisoning three women in his home, subjecting them to rapes and beatings for a decade. Castro told the judge, “My addiction to pornography and my sexual problem has really taken a toll on my mind.” - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
City Props 1 & 2 By Chris Elliott - Perhaps someone out there can explain to me why, with failing water mains and sewer mains for Schoenbar, Chatham & Front, Mill, Stedman Streets, we built that beautiful new library. Surely the condition of the water/sewer mains was known to the City long before the library was built. I'm sure I'll get some song & dance about different funding sources, etc. etc. - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
Alaska needs Mark Begich By Ann Stephenson - Where's the truth? Not in the outsider ads paid for by Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, et al. Facts: as Mayor of Anchorage, Mark Begich and the Assembly closed a $33 Million inherited budget deficit while improving city roads and “spurring construction of the Dena’ina Civic Center” (ADN, Sept 11, 2014.) He balanced the city’s budget enabling S&P to upgrade Anchorage’s bond rating to AA. - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
Open Letter to Sen. Begich By Rob Holston - U.S. Senator Mark Begich, yesterday I was in Island to Island Vet Clinic and read on the wall something about how a man’s character is reflected by his treatment of animals. Senator, I suppose you’re kind to puppies but what about human babies? - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
How sweet would it be? By Teresa Alvelo - How sweet would it be if the nation passed Constitutional Amendments similar to those that follow? - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
We the people..." By Susan Valliant - Our symbol, the Bald Eagle, stands for courage and freedom to look ahead. Dr. Carson once said “the eagle has a left wing and a right wing but it takes both wings working together for the Bald Eagle to fly.” Americans uniting together have the ability to reign in the overreaching federal government so our freedoms may be preserved. - More...
Thursday PM - October 02, 2014
Webmail your letter or
Email Your Letter To: editor@sitnews.us
|
Articles &
photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright
and may not be reprinted or redistributed without written permission
from and payment of required fees to the proper sources.
E-mail your news &
photos to editor@sitnews.us
Photographers choosing to submit photographs for publication to SitNews are in doing so, granting their permission for publication and for archiving. SitNews does not sell photographs. All requests for purchasing a photograph will be emailed to the photographer.
|
|
Weekly Specials |
The Local Paper is now available online.
Click here for this week's printed edition.
|
|
|
