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Saturday
November 09, 2013
Golden Sunset
“Never waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that you should be sitting under!” — C. JoyBell C.
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.)
Fish Factor: Observers find “substantial discards” By LAINE WELCH - Keeping tabs on how many and what kinds of fish are coming over the rails is a key tool in Alaska’s highly successful fishery management programs. For nearly four decades, that has been the job of fishery observers who track everything that is hauled aboard trawlers, crabbers and most other fishing vessels 50 feet and up.
Starting this year and for the first time ever, observers were placed aboard smaller boats as well as Alaska’s hook and line fleet to start getting information about “removals” in that gear group’s fisheries.
The primary finding after eight months can be summed up as: “substantial discards.”
“The category with the most new coverage was the catcher vessel hook and line fleet in the Gulf of Alaska,” said Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries in Juneau. “In that fishery we did see some substantial discards compared to some other gear types - in the skate fisheries, rockfish, shark and in the directed halibut fishery, in particular.”
From January through August a total of seven percent of all the hook and line fishing trips in the Gulf were monitored by observers, according to documents provided for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Those trips produced an estimated 601 metric tons of directly observed discards in the directed halibut, sablefish and Pacific cod fisheries.
When that tonnage and the observer rate are extrapolated over the entire fleet, the discards add up to over 20 million pounds of halibut, nearly three million pounds of cod and five million pounds of skates.
“That is not necessarily mortality, it is fish going over the rails,” Merrill explained. - More...
Saturday AM - November 09, 2013
Ketchikan & Statewide: Alaska broke weather records in October - October temperatures were decidedly above normal both across the state throughout the month with all 20 first order stations reporting positive deviations.
A very large number of record temperature events were reported for October, and unsurprisingly, all were new record highs, with no new lows noted. There were two timeframes where most were set: from the 15th to the 20th and the 25th to the 29th. Delta Junction had a total of five new records set, and one record tied. Both Homer and Bettles had five events each. Three of the records broken had been in place since 1936. Delta Junction's new record of 62°F on the 28th shattered the old record from 1962 by an amazing 19°F. This huge jump was the product of the Chinook Winds.
It was the warmest October on record for Anchorage (43.0°F) breaking the 42.1°F mean from way back in 1936. Cold Bay also had the warmest October on record at 46.0°F, breaking the 2002 record of 44.0°F. Similar for McGrath with 38.7°, breaking the 2006 mean of 35.0°F. Also, there was a new record at Delta Junction, with 37.2°F, 2.1°F above the 1969 mean. It was the third warmest for Fairbanks in 109 years. The lowest temperature of the month for Fairbanks was 16°F, and this ties 2002 for the warmest low temperature for the month.
This is an astounding departure for an area as large as Alaska. The monthly mean temperature for all 20 first order stations was 39.8 degrees, a significant 7.4 degrees above the normal of 32.4 degrees. McGrath held the highest positive deviation from normal with 13.6 degrees over its long-term mean of 25.1 degrees Fahrenheit. Following McGrath with positive deviations exceeding 10 degrees were: Delta Junction at 13.1 degrees, Bettles at 12.4 degrees, Fairbanks at 11.9 degrees, Gulkana at 11 degrees and Kotzebue at 10.2 degrees. Most of the stations with the highest positive deviations were located in the Interior.
The month’s coldest temperature was minus 2 degrees Fahrenheit and took place on the 31st in Barrow. Annette (Ketchikan area) reported the highest mean temperature for the month at 48.2 degrees. Barrow reported the coldest temperature for the state with 24.7 degrees.
Ketchikan was slightly too warm in October, 1.7°F above the expected temperature of 45.3°F. The highest temperature for the month was recorded by Ketchikan International Airport on both October 3rd and October 4th, at 56°F, while the lowest temperature of 36°F occurred on October 17th and October 28th. - More...
Saturday AM - November 09, 2013
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Ketchikan: Ketchikan Man Arrested for Assault With Knife - Friday morning, Ketchikan Police Officers were dispatched to 832 Buren on a report of a physical altercation between two men.
The investigation by officers reveled that two men residing at the residence got into an argument over property. The argument turned into a physical altercation with one man grabbing a knife and cutting the other man on the abdomen. - More..
Saturday - November 09, 2013
Alaska: Discovery Of Alaska Spear Points Raises New Questions About Human Arrival In North America - The dispersal of Homo sapiens across the New World is one of the greatest chapters in the history of our species; however, major questions about this late Pleistocene diaspora remain unanswered.
In a new scientific paper co-written by members of a team of researchers associated with the Center for the Study of the First Americans (CSFA) at Texas A&M University, they note that two
contentious issues are the timing of colonization of the Bering Land Bridge and origin of Clovis, which at 13,000 calendar years ago is the earliest unequivocal complex of archaeological sites in temperate North America, known by its specialized fluted spear points. The 2005 discovery of fluted spear points in northwest Alaska strongly suggests that early humans carrying American technology lived on the central Bering Land Bridge about 12,000 years ago, showing that peopling of the Americas was more complex than previously believed.
The research team’s Alaska project is led by Texas A&M University professor of anthropology Ted Goebel. The team includes Goebel's Texas A&M University colleagues Mike Waters, Heather Smith and Kelly Graf, as well as researchers from Baylor University, the University of Georgia, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Desert Research Institute. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, and National Park Service’s Shared Beringia Heritage Program.
One hypothesis holds that spear point fluting technology emerged in Beringia, and then was carried southward, with fluted points becoming the diagnostic “calling card” of early Paleoindians spreading across the Western Hemisphere. Fluted points have long been known from Alaska, yet until now they have never been found in a datable geologic context, making their relationship to Clovis a mystery.
In the new paper, the researchers show that a new archaeological site at Serpentine Hot Springs in Alaska’s Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, contains fluted points in a stratified geologic deposit dating to no earlier than 12,400 calendar years ago, and that these results suggest that Alaska’s fluted-point complex is too young to be ancestral to Clovis, and that it instead represents either a south-to-north dispersal of early Americans or transmission of fluting technology from temperate North America, which in turn suggests that peopling of the Americas and development of Paleoindian technology were much more complex than traditional models predict. - More...
Saturday AM - November 09, 2013
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Alaska: KTUU LEAVES 22 ALASKA COMMUNITIES - A retransmission agreement between Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU and GCI expired on November 8th, ending national and local NBC broadcasts in 22 Alaska communities.
Affected communities include Adak, Akutan, Anaktuvak Pass, Barrow, Bethel, Cordova, Galena, Kaktovik, King Salmon, McGrath, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Kuparuk, Nikolski, Nome, North Slope BP, Shemya, Skagway, Tanana, Unalaska, Valdez and Whittier. - More...
Saturday AM - November 09, 2013
Alaska: Governor’s Emergency Medical Services Awards announced - The Governor's Annual Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Awards sponsored by the Alaska Council on EMS, were announced during the morning session at the state EMS Symposium on Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. Awards will be presented at the 38th Annual Governor’s Alaska EMS Awards Banquet at the Egan Convention Center on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. Award recipients this year are:
Consumer/Citizen Award: Rochelle Ferry, Nome — In recognition of her quick thinking and actions in performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on an unresponsive and hypoxic infant.
EMS Provider Award: Tracy Davison, EMT, Elim — In recognition of her service to the community of Elim as lead EMT/Community Health Practitioner in treating and stabilizing patients and successfully managing a number of obstetric and pediatric emergencies during the last year. - More...
Saturday AM - November 09, 2013
Scam Alert: Affordable Care Act Scams Targeting Medicare Beneficiaries - The Consumer Protection Unit of the Alaska Attorney General’s Office has received reports that scammers are contacting Medicare beneficiaries in Alaska, attempting to obtain personal and financial information.
The scammers often claim that beneficiaries will need new Medicare cards due to “Obamacare,” or the Affordable Care Act, and ask for personal information, Medicare numbers, and bank account information. The callers may already have some personal information about the beneficiaries they are contacting, and reports allege they are using harassment, abusive conduct, and false threats to cut off Medicare benefits.
The State of Alaska, Medicare Information Office has confirmed the Medicare program does not contact anyone by telephone, text, email or door-to-door solicitations requesting personal or bank account information. - More...
Satuarday AM - November 09, 2013
Scam Alert: Affordable Care Act Fraud and Scams - Under the Affordable Care Act (or ACA, sometimes called “Obamacare”), Alaskans can now sign up for health insurance through an insurance marketplace, commonly referred to as an “exchange.” Unfortunately, fraudsters will take advantage of the new program by attempting to trick consumers into providing personal or financial information, or purchasing products they do not need.
Tips to Avoid Fraud:
• Never give your personal, healthcare, or financial information to anyone unless you initiate the contact and know who you are dealing with.
• The government will not call, text, or email you about your health insurance, or to ask for your social security number or bank information. - More...
Saturday AM - November 09, 2013 |
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the editor at editor@sitnews.us or call 617-9696
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 Harley Riders 2013 Dinner By James Schenk -
On Saturday, November 9th, Ketchikan Harley Riders will be putting on our 2013 Spaghetti dinner with an auction to follow. - More...
Thursday AM - November 07, 2013
RE: Open Letter: Affordable Care Act By Marvin Seibert -
I'm appalled at a group of Doctors in Alaska supporting the destruction of our Health Care system by way of Obamacare. There is nothing affordable about this and it was passed with lies and deceit by our current President, Barack Hussein Obama! - More..
Thursday AM - November 07, 2013
Re: Affordable Care? By Alan R. McGillvray -
Affordable care, to whom is it affordable? Only to a Senior Citizen who is getting most if not all his medical expenses paid by some one else, even if his 'diabetic test strips' were costing him $75.00 to $100.00 a month. Which, because he is on Medicare, some one else is picking up the costs of his testing supplies. - Mor..
Thursday AM - November 07, 2013
Obamacare By Duane Hill -
I don't see how those praising Obamacare can say anything about it. Hardly anyone has been able to sign up for it and nobody has had time for their claims to be processed, and add to that time the 3 to 7 days it takes for a letter to be printed here. These letters to the editor are either speculation or lies. - More..
Thursday AM - November 07, 2013
Re: No More Traditional Paper Marine Charts By Donita O'Dell -
Paper copies of charts will still be available as POD (print on demand) and from NOAA-certified third parties (complete with updates!). NOAA is ending production of the traditional litho versions because they have declined in popularity as more convenient options (for hard-copy as well as digital) have emerged. - More...
Thursday AM - November 07, 2013
Gun Free zones and other things By A. M. Johnson -
Small snippet of data gathering. Could be interesting to your readers then again, depending on political leaning, maybe not. I found them informative and useful in future discussions on gun control. - More...
Thursday AM - November 07, 2013
Federal tax system "abominable" By Wiley Brooks -
The Tax Foundation has released a report providing an eye-opening look at many facets of the federal tax system - which the foundation calls "abominable."
The report is titled "Putting a Face on America's Tax Returns: A Chart Book."
The Foundation states: "The income tax system in the United States is a sprawling mass of provisions spread across dozens of volumes and has been called everything from a 'disaster' to an 'abomination.'
"It takes Americans as many as seven billion work hours every year just to complete the paperwork required. The IRS' own National Taxpayer Advocate estimates that it costs individual and corporate taxpayers more than $165 billion annually to comply with the income tax code.
"In order to figure out what we need to fix, we need to understand how the system works now. We've compiled this chart book to not only 'put a face on American taxpayers,' but to provide some must-know background information on the key issues of the tax reform debate." - More...
Thursday AM - November 07, 2013
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