Top Stories U.S. News U.S. Politics Alaska Ketchikan

Alaska: Alaska Wild Salmon will continue to carry "ecolabel" - Alaska's commercial salmon fishery has been recertified as sustainable under Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards for sustainably-managed fisheries, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced Monday. This renews the certification Alaska salmon was initially granted in 2000, when it was the first U.S. fishery to get this significant designation.

This re-certification means Alaska salmon products can continue to carry the MSC's blue "ecolabel" in markets around the world, identifying them as coming from a fishery that is well-managed for sustainability and environmental responsibility.

"The MSC label helps Alaska's salmon harvesters and processors tell people around the world that Alaska takes good care of our marine and freshwater environments, while providing millions of wild fish to health conscious consumers," said David Bedford, Deputy Commissioner of ADF&G. "MSC has acknowledged that the re-certification process needs improvement, and that this assessment took months more than originally expected, but our sustainable commercial salmon fisheries will benefit from this endorsement." Bedford added, "ADF&G will work with MSC to help make the re-certification process better in the years to come." - More....
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Alaska: Governor Directs Attorney General to File Amicus Brief; State to offer its unique perspective on the harm to Alaskans caused by Exxon spill - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Monday confirmed her direction last week to Attorney General Talis Colberg to begin work on the state's response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear the Exxon case.

Last Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear Exxon Mobil's appeal of the $2.5 billion damages award from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Governor Palin conferred with Colberg about filing an amicus brief and a decision was made to go forward. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Alaska: Municipalities Honored For Excellence in Local Government - The City of Anderson was perhaps the most celebrated community Thursday night as they took home two of the five prestigious Alaska Community Awards of Excellence during the Alaska Municipal League's 57th Annual Local Government Conference Awards Banquet. Other communities to receive awards were the Municipality of Anchorage, the City and Borough of Juneau and the City of Palmer.

The City of Anderson, located in the Denali Borough between Anchorage and Fairbanks, continues to receive accolades for the Land Give-Away Program; a program created by the Anderson High School students to spur economic development in the community.

"Little did anyone realize that this story would make state, national, and international news," said acting Mayor Andy Archer, "It has really been an interesting and exciting summer to see individuals working on their lots." - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Alaska: Alaska Elephant Finds New Home With Help of Air Force by Staff Sgt. Francesca Popp - As the sun crested over the foothills of San Andreas, Calif., and the compound's gate opened, she knew she was home.

Maggie, the Alaska Zoo's only elephant, arrived at the Performing Animals Welfare Society's ARK 2000 Wildlife Sanctuary Nov. 2, exiting her crate some 15 hours after leaving Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Air Force officials agreed to assist in moving the 25-year-old, 8,000-pound pachyderm, since no commercial airlift was available.

"We contacted local authorities in Anchorage and began the lengthy process of requesting an Air Force flight for Maggie," said Pat Derby, PAWS co-founder and president, who agreed to reimburse the Air Force. "After several weeks of negotiating, we secured permission from the Air Force to fly Maggie for a price -- between $215,000 and $300,000."

All the while, the logistics for the move were being planned. It took several agencies in the Air Force, as well as officials from the Alaska Zoo and PAWS, to ensure the 8,000-pound African elephant would be safely relocated from the Alaska to California.

"She may not have been able to get out ( of Alaska ) at all if it wasn't for the Air Force," said Ed Stewart, PAWS co-founder and director. "It wasn't just doing it, but the way they did it. They were so thoughtful of her. They made sure they didn't rattle the chains when binding her down. The climb out of Elmendorf was a certain pitch so as not to tip Maggie and it was probably a good training mission for sensitive cargo like that. It could not have been better."

A C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 517th Airlift Squadron at Elmendorf was selected as Maggie's aerial transport. The crews tasked to fly the live cargo to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., were a mix of active-duty and Alaska Air National Guard Airmen.

The pilots who planned the flight took into account the take off angle, as well as the aircraft's cruising altitude. In the end, they said Maggie was an excellent passenger. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Alaska: Kohring Found Guilty; Third State Representative to Be Tried - A federal jury in Anchorage, Alaska, found former Alaska State Representative Victor H. Kohring guilty of conspiracy, bribery and attempted extortion last week.

Following an eight-day jury trial, Kohring, a member of the Alaska State House of Representatives from 1994 to 2007, was convicted of conspiracy, bribery and attempted extortion, for corruptly soliciting and receiving financial benefits from a company in exchange for performing official acts in the Alaska State Legislature on the company's behalf. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Alaska: Wanted: Future leaders of Alaska's seafood processing industry. - Career oriented seafood processing workers are invited to apply to a program that offers Alaskans specialized training in leadership, seafood processing, safety and sanitation, marketing and logistics.

Called the Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute or ASPLI, the program aims to promote the professional development of promising future leaders in the seafood processing industry. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Ketchikan: Local Radio Stations Brings Home Five Goldie Awards - Ketchikan radio station KFMJ-FM struck gold at the Alaska Broadcaster's Association Goldie awards banquet in Anchorage on November 2nd, bringing home Goldie Awards in 5 different categories.

Station Manager Bob Kern said KFMJ had actually been nominated in 15 categories.

"We're really pleased to have been awarded 5 Goldies," Kern said. "The competition was really keen and I'm very proud of the people who contributed their talent to earn these awards for KFMJ."

The Goldie awards are the Alaska version of the "Emmy" awards, recognizing excellence in radio and television broadcasting. The entries are judged by an independent panel of broadcast professionals from across the nation. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Ketchikan: The Arts This Week - This week in Ketchikan Sweet Second Saturdays Tune Fest features a folk jam and Paddy's Leather Breeches. Come out to Schoenbar on Saturday, November 10th at 7:00 pm for a night of dancing. Tickets are $5.00 donations at the door, and kids under 18 are free! Sweet!

Beauty and the Beast. First City Players is performing the classic musical fairytale of the beautiful Belle and the enchanted Beast who must learn to love. Directed by Elizabeth Nelson and choreographed by Clare Bennett, with an incredible and talented cast and fabulous costumes. Shows are November 2-4, and 9-11, 2007 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $24 for Adults, $20 for Seniors, and $5 for Students, at First City Players at the Plaza. Get them now! - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Today's Forecast Satellite Today's Weather Images Marine Forecasts Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map CLASSIFIEDS Publish ad Please select the proper category before posting. CLASSIFIEDS' CATEGORIES Announcements and       Help Wanted For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services Publish your ad Front Page Archives Oct. - Nov. 2007 S M T W T F S   01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06         More Front Page Archives

War against ALS By Matt MacVane - I read Linda Kreider,s letter about ALS and her dad. It is a sorry story. My son Beau is 31 and was diagnosed with ALS in April of 2007. Beau spent 5 combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, 3 in Iraq and 2 in Afghanistan in the elite Army Rangers. He is not doing well. The disease is terrible and just as Linda stated it robs one of the ability to talk and walk. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

The New Drum - Present Day Prophesy By George Miller - A few weeks ago I was writing a vision for this reaching this region with the Good News and was overtaken by another vision. It began with a deep, reverberating drum sound. The sound was coming more from deep time than deep geography, though it seems to shake the mantle of the earth. I began to sense pressure from generations of First -Nations People, who had been in some ways prevented from expressing worship to the Creator, Jesus, in the way HE had designed. There was deep increasing pressure to express worship and the drum grew louder and more intense. A great release is near, a break-out from bondage to dead religion, or mere ceremony. God is building a pent up passion to break out into true freedom in worship. HE will have His way. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Ketchikan, Pribilofs, Ward Cove By Ralph E. Pray - I immensely enjoyed reading the snippets about Ketchikan, where Bev and I married (at Totem Park) in the late 50s, where our first son was born, and where we departed for the Colorado School of Mines in 1961. - More...
Tuesday AM - November 06, 2007

Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share Plan By Gov. Sarah Palin - "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality." - Max DePree

I rolled out Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share (ACES) plan, defining reality for legislators and Alaskans: our current oil valuation system, PPT, is of unreliable origin and we have devised a way to fix it.

The fix is ACES, as it was originally proposed.

Here is a reality: PPT was born out of failed gasline negotiations between the previous administration and oil companies. The administration was desperate for a gasline deal - seemingly at any cost. As a result it compromised the original plan's 25 percent tax rate. It included giveaways for past investments. And it left the state without needed tools to protect our interests and enforce the new tax law. - More....
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

Alaska Supreme Court ruling By Joey Tillson - The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that underage teenage girls can get abortions without parental consent. Can you believe this?

I am a mother of two beautiful young girls and the thought of my children having abortions without my consent from any age in their adolescent years is just sickening. There are several contributing factors that I wish to dispute regarding this issue. - More...
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

Landless Update By James A Llanos Jr - I understand your opinions about landless. I too am concerned it will fade away. But while I was truck driving in the lower 48 I contacted Senator Murkowski several times, I even had her office call my cell phone a few times. The results of my contacts are a couple of letters updating me on the issue. She also submitted a bill to Congress, Bill # S 1306 and its last action was it went to committee. - More...
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

Bus stop benches By Amy Schroeder - This is in response to Carrie Mueller's letter about the library bus stop. While I am sorry that Ms Mueller feels subjected to unhealthy behavior by the "homeless" at the stop, take a minute to think about the people around you. Sometimes just opening up a random friendly conversation with someone you don't know can give one insight into another person you may never otherwise appreciate or understand. Winter is coming and space at the shelter is limited so some of those folks may have slept out all night and are sunning themselves at that stop (It gets the first morning light). - More...
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

Wildlife Violator Compact By Rep. Craig Johnson - Recent news coverage of Alaska's big game hunting, some good and some bad, highlights the need for better communication and cooperation with other states to ensure poachers do not go unpunished. I read with both pride and dismay a story from Anchorage about poachers being brought to justice for illegally taking our big game. Pride because our Alaska Wildlife Troopers did their job and did it well, but with dismay at the fact that the two men involved will undoubtedly be viewed as hunters. They are not, and for once the ADN got it right in the headline by calling them poachers. - More...
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

Elected officials not above the law By Frances C. Natkong - I was shocked when I heard Vic Kohring speak to the press after he was found guilty on three counts. He was not sorry he broke the law, he was sorry for putting his family and friends through the trauma of his trial. - More...
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

Common courtesy By Robert McRoberts - Courtesy starts with the way you treat others. When you're in a small town there are some who like you and some who don't. Very few will say some good things about you, and some will cut your back. Very few are brave enough to come out and say just how they feel about you. And opinions change too. But the way one goes about doing things need to be done for the best of our community. Recently some of our leaders took it on themselves to cut corners and it's back firing. - More...
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

Polars bears and global warming?? By Mike Isaac - I just don't understand people who fall for the global warming pile of BS. They always start off by saying something about BUSH that makes no sense. Yes he is by far the worst president who ever sat in the White House and has caused a lot of problems with his Amnesty for illegals scam and his war on IRAQ, but no man on earth can ever hope to alter the earth's climate. - More...
Monday AM - November 05, 2007

More Letters/Viewpoints
Webmail your letter or
Email Your Letter To: editor@sitnews.us