Bethel residents will be asked to vote again this October on whether to have legal sales of alcohol in town. A petition submitted by Evon Waska Sr. has gathered enough signatures to put the local option issue back on the city’s October ballot.
Waska’s petition turned in 297 qualifying signatures, more than enough to meet the bar of 248 signatures needed to put the alcohol local option on the ballot. That represents 35 percent of last year’s election turnout of 710 voters.
According to City Clerk Lori Strickler, the Bethel City Council is now required to put the alcohol issue on the ballot come October under Alaska state law.
Stickler anticipates the item will appear before the Council at the May 22 meeting for introduction, with a public hearing to follow on June 12.
If the local option proposition passes in October, Strickler says Bethel liquor stores would have 90 days to close after the Council certifies the election.
The reintroduction of Wood Bison is one of the projects supported by gun tax revenues. Photo: Fish & Game Department.
Russian scientists have purchased yearling bison from a Delta Junction area ranch that are headed to Pleistocene Park, a 20-square-kilometer research plot in eastern Siberia. Nikita Zimov and his father Sergey are trying to recreate an ice age ecosystem.
“We know that main four species were mammoths, bison, horse and reindeer. And bison were actually the most dominant,” Nikita Zimov said.
A dozen bison are set to be transported as part of the geo-engineering project. The bison are central to the experiment to see if herd animals can help prevent melting of carbon rich permafrost.
“Animals when they forage trample down the snow,” Zimov said. “So when animals trample down the snow, they allow this cold to penetrate, and then the winter soils freeze much deeper.”
The Alaska bison will complement horses, musk oxen, reindeer and yaks the Zimovs previously transplanted to Pleistocene Park.
Zimov said grasses that proliferate on trammeled earth reflect more sunlight, store more carbon, and dry underlying soils, reducing production of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. It’s a small scale exercise with potentially global implications, and worth pursuing, according to ecologist Terry Chapin of Fairbanks.
“It takes the actual experiment to determine what the outcome will be,” Chapin said. “And I think that’s the value of Pleistocene Park.”
Chapin, an accomplished researcher of the ecological impacts of climate change, has visited the park, knows the Zimovs and is helping with the effort to transport the bison.
“They’re going to build the crates that’ll carry the bison. And they’re going to build those in our garage,” Chapin said. “And an 11-month old bison is, like, bigger that you would expect. They weigh about 500 pounds. They don’t like to be confined so they’re difficult to deal with. They’re kind of like little furry Tasmanian devils with horns.”
Luke Griswold Tergis of Haines is making a documentary about Pleistocene Park, and handling a lot of the Alaska side logistics. He connected Zimov with the Stevens Village bison farm near Delta Junction.
“As a favor, I was like, ‘Oh, you know, Nikita — let me — I’ll just call some people in Alaska and see if anyone has any bison for sale,” Tergis said.
Ben Stevens with Tanana Chiefs Conference said he knew right away he could probably help. He said he feels good about tribally raised bison going to Pleistocene Park.
“Because it’s restoring an animal to the wild,” Stevens said.
The bison are quarantined in preparation for travel to Siberia. Zimov doesn’t have a set a departure date, but has early June in mind at the latest.
Zimov said he’s working to secure an air carrier to fly the bison to Siberia, and raising money online to cover the remaining half of the $200,000 project cost.
Sea otters eat clams, mussels, sea urchins and crab. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife photo)
Biologists are investigating a surprising connection between two animals that aren’t exactly well loved in parts of Southeast. Gustavus locals suspect wolves are picking off deer at a popular hunting spot on an island near the mainland. The wolves started swimming over to feast on the deer about five years ago.
But on a recent camping trip, a Gustavus man realized the wolves weren’t just eating deer. One notorious marine predator appears to be the prey.
Greg Streveler has worked as a field biologist all his life. He’s retired now. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t find plenty of work. When he camped on Pleasant Island — just off the coast of Gustavus — he saw another opportunity to spring into action.
On his trip in March, Streveler noticed numerous wolf signs and six dead sea otters.
“Well, it varied from bleached out bones … to blood on the ribs,” Streveler said.
Streveler says it looked like the wolves were so hungry, they were eating everything they could find, and he wondered if scavenging sea otters was a last resort.
Then Streveler noticed something else that could help answer his question.
“Concentrations of scats like I’ve never seen,” Streveler said.
Gretchen Roffler holds one of the bags of wolf scat collected by Greg Streveler. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/Alaska’s Energy Desk).
In that moment Streveler knew how he could be of service. He asked his daughter to bring an entire box of plastic bags which kept him pretty busy. Thankfully, his family was OK with his unusual hunt. His daughter even helped out.
They collected more than 40 bags of wolf scat, but they still needed a place to send it. As a former employee of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Streveler felt like he knew the right place.
“Oh, I just put it in a five gallon bucket and put it on the airplane,” Streveler said.
In an industrial area in the capital city, Gretchen Roffler fiddles with a lock on what appears to be a metal shed.
“This is a big freezer,” Roffler said. “This is where we store the animal parts.”
Inside this freezer in Juneau there are goat skulls and moose jaws and Streveler’s five gallon bucket.
Roffler, a biologist with fish and game, says she appreciated the find because she’s been amassing wolf scat from areas around Southeast for about three years. Just looking at it, she can guess what the wolves are eating.
“So for example, here you can see these hairs sticking out of the edge,” Roffler said describing the contents of the plastic bag.
But to get a more detailed snapshot, you have to analyze the DNA of all the different prey.
Roffler plans to send these samples off for analysis in the summer. She knows what wolves eat for dinner varies seasonally and from place to place. Wolves are opportunistic. In some locations, they eat moose or deer. Around Point Gustavus, however, the common prey that’s showed up in past lab results has been sea otter.
“It’s not something we’ve seen so far in other parts of Southeast,” Roffler said.
Biologists aren’t sure why that’s happening. But better understanding the various prey species in scat could provide a clue and influence management decisions down the road.
Streveler says Gustavus hunters weren’t thrilled when more wolves started swimming over to Pleasant Island to eat the deer.
“That was our main meat source,” Streveler said. “People are big time disgusted about it.”
Streveler wants to know if this is still one wolf pack swimming over. He doesn’t think that would bode well for the island’s deer. It’s like finishing your dinner at one restaurant and moving on to the next. Chances are you’ll want to go back to your favorite restaurant again.
“One thing we really want to know is what’s the connection between the wolves on the island and the wolves on the mainland.” Streveler said.
The scat Streveler collected could help make that distinction.
As for the gnawed on sea otters, Streveler acknowledges how people in Southeast could read that as some kind of poetic justice. If fisherman had to pick their most disliked marine mammal, sea otters might win. They’ve sunk their teeth into favorite fishing spots, and now the predator is becoming the prey.
But Streveler says both animals teach us the same thing about our ecosystem and ourselves: Everything has its up and downs. Streveler knows that. He helped reintroduce sea otters to the region nearly sixty years ago.
“I’m not wearing it on my lapel. Let’s put it that way,” Streveler said.
But now Streveler is keeping plastic bags at the ready to document the unexpected places sea otters are popping up.
Between 2009 and 2016, the company sold vehicles that were equipped with so-called “defeat devices,” which illegally masked the cars’ actual pollution during emissions tests.
Alaska will receive $8 million as part of Volkswagen’s settlement with a federal agency. Last year, the governor appointed the Alaska Energy Authority to help manage the funds.
Spokesperson Katie Conway said the public has until July 1 to weigh in.
“I think the highlight here is that we’ve been hearing about this case for a really long time, and now it’s Alaska’s opportunity to figure out the best use of the funding that we get as a state for what Volkswagen did,” Conway said.
The legal settlement defined the type of projects that could receive funding, including investments in electric vehicle infrastructure or upgrades to diesel-powered transportation, like ferries and buses. The energy authority wants public input on what to prioritize.
Based on those comments, the agency hopes to finalize a plan this summer and start accepting proposals by August.
Plan to draw from permanent fund is silent on PFDs
Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
The Alaska legislature released a proposal today outlining how it will draw from Permanent Fund earnings to pay for state spending.
Bethel voters to decide whether or not to keep legal alcohol sales
Christine Trudeau, KYUK – Bethel
Bethel residents will be asked to vote again this October on whether to have legal sales of alcohol in town. A petition has gathered enough signatures to put the local option issue back on the city’s October ballot.
Calista director Colonel Wayne Don denies allegations against him
Teresa Cotsirilos, KYUK – Bethel
The Calista Regional Native Corporation is trying to get rid of its former chairman, and it’s not entirely clear why.
More than 300 Alaska-based paratroopers to return home this weekend
Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
The first wave of Alaska-based soldiers from an on-going combat deployment is about to arrive home.
State wants public input on how to spend Volkswagen settlement money
Elizabeth Jenkins, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Juneau
The $8 million could go towards investments in electric vehicle infrastructure or upgrades to diesel-powered transportation.
Kuskowkim River remains jammed as community eagerly awaits breakup
Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK – Bethel
As of Wednesday morning, the Kuskokwim River ice remains jammed in the Middle River at Birch Crossing. There, the Kuskowkim makes a sharp 100-degree bend, which traps ice every year.
Survival of first Alaskans linked to breast milk
Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers some clues into how the first Alaskans adapted to their new home.
UAF signs deal with New Mexico-based lab for future Arctic projects
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is partnering with Sandia National Laboratory to conduct science in the Arctic.
Wolves are eating sea otters near Gustavus. What does that mean for the deer?
Elizabeth Jenkins, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Juneau
On a recent camping trip, a Gustavus man realized that wolves weren’t just eating deer at a beloved hunting spot. One notorious marine predator appears to be becoming the prey.
Hoonah microbrewery gets new owners and location, but will offer familiar tastes
Tripp Crouse, KTOO – Juneau
The new owners of Icy Strait Brewing are busy remodeling a new location for the Hoonah microbrewery. They hope to open in time for the first cruise ship scheduled to dock on May 12.
Alaska Army National Guard Col. Wayne Don pledges the Oath of Office after being promoted to full colonel on July 14, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Sgt. David Bedard/ U.S. Army)
The Calista Regional Native Corporation is trying to get rid of its former chairman, and it’s not entirely clear why.
In a press release last week, Calista’s Board of Directors accused Colonel Wayne Don of interfering with an internal investigation, improperly issuing orders to Calista employees, and threatening Calista CEO Andrew Guy. They voted to publicly censure him last week.
The allegations came as a surprise to many of Don’s supporters. Born and raised in Mekoryuk, Don is a well-respected colonel in the Alaska Army National Guard. For his part, Don says that none of the three allegations against him actually happened, which is why he won’t resign.
“Why would somebody subject themselves to this when they otherwise had a positive, very good reputation?” Don said. “Other than the fact of my convictions and my sense of service.”
Don and his attorney tell a very different story, one that involves the #MeToo Movement and a CEO’s slow response. In 2017, when Don was still serving as the board’s Chairman, he says that Calista was conducting an internal investigation of one of its employees. Don would not elaborate on the nature of that investigation, but his attorney Sam Fortier did.
“An employee had engaged in, basically, a rather significant ‘me too’ moment. In fact, a series of moments,” Fortier said.
Fortier said that the unnamed Calista employee had repeatedly sexually harassed a woman who worked for a potential Calista vendor. The woman reported it to CEO Andrew Guy in August 2017. Calista’s employee policies require leadership to respond immediately to allegations like this, but Fortier says that nothing happened.
The woman reported the harassment again a few weeks later, this time to Calista’s Human Resources Department, and Calista promptly launched an internal investigation. Fortier said that a few members of Calista’s middle management were concerned about Andrew Guy’s failure to respond the woman’s first complaint, and Don said that they approached him with their concerns.
“There are specific provisions within the employee handbook which allow employees to come directly to the chairman of the board if there is an issue that involves the president,” Don said.
Don said that he did not interfere with Calista’s internal investigation, like the board claims, or give any employees directives that he shouldn’t have. The investigation wrapped up in November 2017, and Fortier said the corporation found that their employee had repeatedly sexually harassed the woman. They quickly fired him.
Toward the end of November, Don organized a board meeting of his own to discuss CEO Andrew Guy’s failure to act on the woman’s complaints. That meeting is at the center of the board’s allegation that Don threatened Guy. His attorney, Fortier, said that didn’t happen. Instead, he says that Don contacted Guy before the meeting on the advice of two different attorneys that he’d consulted. A few of the employees who had originally talked to Don about the CEO’s lack of response to the initial complaint were worried about getting fired; Don advised Guy not to retaliate against them.
The board meeting Don called was surprisingly short. Right after it started, Fortier said that one board member made a “motion to adjourn.” Another board member seconded it, and in accordance with Calista’s protocols, that brought the meeting to a standstill. Andrew Guy’s alleged failure to report sexual harassment was never discussed.
Over the next few months, Don said that he started noticing tension among his fellow board members. Then Calista’s Governance Committee unanimously decided that Don had reneged on his duties as a board member. The committee is comprised of Don’s fellow board members, and its members are Earl Samuelson Sr., Willie Kasayulie, Paul George Guy, Johnny Evan and Robert L. Beans.
In March, the board narrowly voted, six to five, to remove Wayne Don from his chairmanship and recommended that he resign.
Don’s attorney claims that these attempts to push Don out are entirely political and made by board members allied with Andrew Guy.
“Wayne has been crucified in order to try to maintain a sense of dignity and order within Calista,” Fortier said. “[He] did everything you’re supposed to do in compliance with your fiduciary duties and more, and this is what he gets for it.”
This wouldn’t be the first time that Calista’s leadership was shaken by sexual harassment allegations. In 2016, a former Calista employee filed a lawsuit against both Calista and its former CEO, Matthew Nicolai, who she accused of sexually harassing her. Calista fired Nicolai for this behavior back in 2010. Andrew Guy is his successor.
In an interview with KYUK, Calista spokesperson Thom Leonard said that he had no knowledge of the specific allegations against Don, or Don’s version of the story. The corporation also released a statement on Monday afternoon which reiterated claims that Don had acted improperly and implied that he may not be telling the truth about what happened. It says that board members “shall not knowingly disseminate false or misleading information.”
Despite the public censure and controversy, Wayne Don still refuses to resign from Calista’s board.
“I continue to try to serve the best I can,” Don said. “I have to try to put this this particular issue behind for the shareholders’ benefit and focus on the positive things that we’re charged with doing.”
Don said he hopes to continue to serve the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to the best of his ability. He is up for reelection by Calista’s shareholders in 2019.
Members of the conference committee on Senate Bill 26, a plan to draw from Alaska Permanent Fund earnings to pay for state government, talk after releasing the committee’s version of the bill. The new version doesn’t say how much of the draw would be used for permanent fund dividends. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO)
The Alaska legislature released a proposal Wednesday outlining how it will draw from permanent fund earnings to pay for state spending.
This year will be the first time in state history lawmakers draw on the fund’s earnings for government operations.
Under the proposal, the lawmakers would take about 5 percent of the permanent fund’s value annually — or $2.7 billion for the coming year. The bill doesn’t say how much of that would go to permanent fund dividends.
Since oil prices fell four years ago, Alaska has been using its savings accounts. But with one piggy bank – the Constitutional Budget Reserve – mostly exhausted, lawmakers are now turning to permanent fund earnings to cover government costs.
This has raised concerns among fund managers that the draw will be unplanned and inconsistent.
The legislation, Senate Bill 26, would set rules for a structured, predictable draw from the fund. Bethel Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Democrat who caucuses with the Republican majority, said he’s comfortable with the plan.
“Basically, we’re trying to meet the demands of the permanent fund board, to give them some structure,” Hoffman said.
The Senate and House passed different versions of the bill last year. But they haven’t been able to work out their differences. The bill released Wednesday was drafted by a conference committee including members of both houses, and could be the basis of a compromise.
Originally, each chamber set aside a portion of the draw for permanent fund dividends. The Senate would have devoted a quarter of the draw to dividends, and the House, a third for PFDs.
The new version of the bill doesn’t specify how much of the draw would go toward PFDs. The Legislature would have to set the amount each year, or it would have to set a formula through a different bill.
Rep. Tammie Wilson, a North Pole Republican, said she thinks that approach makes sense.
“I guess I’m really not that concerned that the dividend’s not in here at this point, because as we’ll see oil revenue change – I think others in the Legislature want to go for a lower amount and keep it that way forever – when it should be based on oil production, not necessarily where we are currently,” Wilson said.
Bothchambers have proposed PFDs of $1,600 for this year.
The Legislature could pass the permanent fund draw before the session ends. That could happen any time up to May 16, the last possible day for the regular session to end under the state constitution.
Chad Christman, 41, was snowmachining on Blackstone Glacier, about nine miles southwest of Whittier when the accident occurred.
According to a dispatch from the Alaska State Troopers, two men saw the avalanche cover their friend and his machine. When it stopped, Christman was only partially buried.
Other people in the area rushed over to help and the group was able to dig Christman out and start CPR.
A helicopter from the Alaska Rescue and Coordination Center arrived on scene and transported Christman to an Anchorage hospital, but he did not survive the accident.
Chad Christman’s family members have been notified of his death.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is partnering with Sandia National Laboratory to conduct science in the Arctic. UAF recently signed an agreement with the Albuquerque, New Mexico based government owned lab, which also has research facilities on Alaska’s North Slope.
UAF Geophysical Institute Director Robert McCoy says the agreement centers on some distinct areas of study, including disaster response, space weather, and a long running atmospheric radiation measurement program.
”We’ve been collaborating there,” McCoy said. “But also, they’ve been flying unmanned aircraft, and we’ve been flying unmanned aircraft. So we’re trying to partner to do more of that kinda work.”
McCoy says UAF and Sandia officials are discussing the possibility of building a base for unmanned aerial vehicles west of Prudhoe Bay near Oliktok Point, where UAF, Sandia and NASA have launched flights in recent years.
”It’d be nice to have a more elaborate facility that we can carry out more science,” McCoy said.
McCoy says the UAV base is in the early discussion phase, and there’s no funding yet. He says the base would allow flights to the North Pole, and be open to other universities and agencies to contract out for research. He says the agreement signed by UAF and Sandia allows fund sharing between the two entities to forward research projects.
Owner of Kachemak Bowl, Mark Cooper, has worked at the bowling alley since he was a teenager. (Renee Gross/ KBBI)
The Kenai Peninsula’s last bowling alley has closed down. Homer bowlers had their final chance to throw 10 frames Saturday at Kachemak Bowl before the building was turned over to Regent Life Church. That’s left several bowlers in Homer unsure about what they’ll do without the sport.
Richard Everett was playing on one of the few lanes at Kachemak Bowl Thursday that he said works well. He said the other lanes have some quirks.
“Those two lanes, you have to manually score it,”Lane number six, when you get a strike, you have to hit the reset button so the next guy can bowl—that doesn’t do it automatically,” Everett said. “But it’s all part of it. It’s the uniqueness of the lanes.”
Everett has been bowling here for 25 years.
“We’re going to miss it deeply,” Everett said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with all my bowling balls now. I made a lot of good friends.”
Everett competes on the local Special Olympics Unified Team. The team is representing Alaska this summer at the Special Olympics in Seattle. Now that there is no bowling alley left on the peninsula, Everett and his teammates will have to drive the roughly 220 miles to Anchorage to practice.
Teammate Robin Daugherty says she can’t afford not to.
“So every Saturday, from now until the end of June, I’m driving to Anchorage, bowling and driving back. Because I need to bowl with that ball to be good enough to compete in Seattle,” Daugherty said.
Reactions to the alley closing down ranged from disappointment to heartbreak, but most said they saw this coming. Mark Cooper owns Kachemak Bowl and is the only employee. He leases the space from his mom.
“Well the building is still owned by my mom, and she put it up for sale two years ago,” Cooper said.
Cooper said Kachemak Bowl started in 1959 on Bunnell Street. His family bought it in the 1970s and built the current alley about a decade later.
The family was hoping to find someone who would continue operating the bowling alley, but Cooper said that’s a tough sell.
“Bowling has declined and that’s a nationwide decline,” Cooper explained. “We felt it here possibly a little later than the rest of the nation. It’s become more of a recreational event instead of the league base that used to drive it.”
Cooper said he’ll miss the variety of people who have walked through the doors over the years, and he adds that he’s not quite sure what he will do next.
“It’s all I’ve done for the last 30 some years,” Cooper said. “So, pretty much everybody I know is my customer base.”
The Regent Life Church officially bought the building Monday and takes over the building Tuesday. It plans to make the bowling alley its new location.
Cardboard and plastics pile up at the Juneau Recycling Center on April 28. Some recyclables are no longer accepted by China, one of the world’s largest buyers. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
Almost a year ago, recycling businesses in China announced plans to stop buying mixed paper and some types of plastic containers. That worried Alaska and West Coast businesses that collect, sort and ship those materials overseas.
At least one major wholesaler said it would remove the paper and plastics from its recycling stream and dump it in its landfill. But so far, that’s not happening much.
Waste Management Communications Manager Jackie Lange said it was a big deal.
“In the broader region and across the country and in fact, around the world, there are a lot of changes that are being driven by what China is doing,” Lange said.
Waste Management operates about 150 recycling centers around the nation, including Juneau’s. It’s the biggest garbage company in the U.S.
Republic Services is another large recycler and trash collector. It takes reusable materials from Ketchikan, Sitka and Petersburg, along with more than 60 other U.S. cities.
Washington state General Manager Don Tibbets said his company continues to collect and sort the same things it did before Jan. 1. But not all newspapers, magazines, junk mail and other mixed paper is being shipped.
“We’re having to stockpile and store this material until we can find markets that are able to accept all of it,” Tibbets said.
Tibbets said Republic found new markets in India, Malaysia and Vietnam. But those nations don’t have as much capacity as China.
“Unfortunately, paper degrades rather fast and rather quickly in the natural environment. So after some time of being stored, it degrades to the point where it’s just no longer marketable,” Tibbets said.
Tibbets said about three-quarters of Republic’s mixed paper is being recycled and the rest is being thrown away.
Republic Services’ Don Tibbets looks over piles of garbage at the Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Washington state on Sept. 7, 2017. Tibbets served as general manager of the landfill, which takes in about 22,000 tons of Southeast Alaska garbage each year. (Photo by Tom Banse/Northwest News Network)
Tibbets said plastics are less of a problem.
“They’re actually a small portion of the recycle stream. So that amount of material, we’re still able to move overseas,” Tibbets said.
China still accepts most plastic bottles and containers marked Nos. 1 and 2, but not Nos. 3-7. But few local recycling centers accept that material.
The new restrictions have sent worldwide recycling wholesalers searching for new markets. In some cases, that’s driven prices down.
It’s of concern, especially in the 49th state.
“In Southeast Alaska, recycling is a very financially based enterprise,” Petersburg Utility Director Karl Hagerman said.
Hagerman has also been active in the Southeast Alaska Regional Solid Waste Authority, a regional organization of cities that barge recycling and garbage south. He said selling recyclables lower the expense.
“If the cost to recycle exceeds the cost to ship as solid waste, then it doesn’t really pencil out financially and we may have to look at doing something differently,” Hagerman said.
Juneau residents drop off cardboard, paper, aluminum and plastics at the city’s recycling center on April 28. It’s operated by Waste Management. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
While the worldwide market has changed, many collection sites have not.
Tibbets of Republic Services said it’s a bad idea to alter recycling habits.
“We don’t advise that because the consumer curve or learning curve can be very steep. So, we don’t want to change any practices. We don’t know if this is going to be a long-term or a short-term market correction,” Tibbets said.
Recycling companies and buyers do want to see one change. That’s less food, liquids and non-recyclables mixed into the stream.
Waste Management calls it “WishCycling.” That’s when customers put what they think should be recycled in bins and at collection sites.
The company said the problem means an estimated one-quarter of what its customers recycle has to be thrown out.
Senator Lisa Murkowski and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry visited Kodiak’s wind turbines on their short visit to the archipelago.(Twitter photo courtesy of Rick Perry)
While on a recent day trip to Kodiak to tour the community’s electrical grid that’s almost entirely powered by renewable energy, Senator Lisa Murkowski and the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, hopped on a plane and took a quick detour to the small community of Old Harbor.
The community has been working to develop its own renewable resources for decades, but still has a long way to go.
Rick Berns has been the mayor of Old Harbor for years, and it doesn’t seem like that long ago to him when the school had over 100 students. But, now.
“I think I was told yesterday there was only 26. I thought we had 33, but I guess we have 33,” Berns said.
Old Harbor, along with other villages in the Kodiak Archipelago are having to deal with their populations dropping.
“People are migrating out of the villages and looking for jobs and, you know, economic stability,” Berns said.
Old Harbor has a plan, according to Berns, to slow its out-migration. The community wants to improve its harbor and start a fish processing plant to develop its economy and keep people in town. There’s one problem though, to entice a company to build a processing plant, the village needs access to cheap and reliable energy.
Right now, the community mostly relies on diesel for its power, which can be expensive and its price often fluctuates. Berns says there is an answer to Old Harbors energy trouble — hydroelectricity.
Since the 1980s, he says, the community’s been working on a project to generate energy from a local river called Lagoon Creek.
“It’s a pretty much a run-of-the-river style hydro project and it has the capacity of 500 kilowatts of generation.”
Even though Old Harbor knows how it wants to incorporate hydroelectricity into its electric grid, it still hasn’t started construction on the project. Berns says that’s because it took years and a lot of money for the village to meet all the requirements needed to move forward. And now, the community still needs to raise about $11 million to build everything.
It was these challenges that inspired Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski to bring the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, to Old Harbor. They were on a trip to Kodiak to see its power grid that’s almost completely powered by hydro and wind energy. Murkowski brought Secretary Perry to the village so he could better understand the challenges facing some of Alaska’s smaller communities.
“For him to see how innovation in a place like Kodiak has helped facilitate an economy and see how a smaller area is struggling with an economy but could have the potential to do so much more if they only they had a small renewable energy project,” Murkowski said.
Murkowski would like to see permitting reform that’d allow smaller hydroelectric projects, like Old Harbor’s, be cleared faster and for less money. Secretary Perry and the Department of Energy doesn’t control permitting for hydroelectric projects, but Murkowski still wanted him to see how places like Kodiak and Old Harbor are being creative in their efforts to reduce energy costs.
“My hope is that he goes back to Washington and he’s able to say ‘you outta see what they’re doing in Alaska and how they’re doing it. They’re taking the lead, and they’re showing the rest country and the rest of the world how to really innovate when it comes to energy,’” Murkowski said.
Rick Berns, Old Harbor’s mayor, says Senator Murkowski and Secretary Perry were only able to stay in the village for about an hour. But, he says the time the community got with them — meant a lot.
“For them to actually come to our community and get to know us, to show concern, it’s humbling, and a great honor,” Berns said.
Secretary Perry seemed energized by what he had learned as he left the village, according to Berns. Berns doesn’t expect anything will come from the visit, but he thinks it’s valuable that someone in President Trump’s administration knows about Old Harbor’s situation.
After leaving Kodiak, Secretary Perry continued north. The secretary only had two days in Alaska and spent the second one in Prudhoe Bay meeting with representatives from the oil and gas industry, according to Senator Murkowski.
Lilly Carter of Kwigillingok and Ben Kuntz of Bethel were named the Kuskokwim Ice Classic winners when the sinking tripod in front of Bethel stopped the clock at 7:51 p.m. on May 2, 2018. William Savo of Dillingham won the Minute Madness competition. (Photo courtesy of Kuskokwim Ice Classic)
It’s official. The Kuskokwim River in front of Bethel has broken. The Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod sunk through the ice, stopping the clock at 7:51 p.m. on Wednesday. With that, the competition designated three lucky winners to take home thousands of dollars in prize money.
Lilly Carter of Kwigillingok and Ben Kuntz of Bethel are splitting the $12,500 jackpot for guessing the closest time to when the clock would stop. Both nailed their predictions on their winning tickets when they wrote down 7:51 p.m. on May 2, 2018. Carter says she will use her winnings to pay bills. Kuntz is donating most of the money to Bethel nonprofits, like KYUK, and might test his lucky streak by buying a few raffle tickets.
In the “Minute Madness” competition, William Savo of Dillingham struck gold to the tune of $10,000 for nabbing minute 51. This contest is limited to the first 60 people who buy a ticket; each holds a specific minute. Savo and his wife have been discussing buying a car, and the prize money will help them get a new ride.
Savo coaches wrestling in Dillingham and frequently travels to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta for tournaments. This was Savo’s first year buying Kuskokwim Ice Classic tickets after purchasing Nenana Ice Classic tickets for many years.
Bethel will celebrate the beginning of spring with its annual Break Up Bash. The bash will begin on the river front at 5 p.m. on Friday to avoid conflicting with the UAF – Kuskokwim University Campus graduation on Thursday.
Thousands of hot dogs will be served while local performers take the stage. The lineup so far includes the Bethel Regional High School Yup’ik Dancers and Mike McIntyre and Friends.
For only the second time, the Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod has been recovered. It didn’t travel far before it was found on Joe Lomack Beach. So next year, you can expect to see the same, colorful tripod standing in front of Bethel again.
The Porcupine Caribou herd in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain. (Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Congress has voted to allow oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but drilling opponents haven’t given up. As part of their strategy going forward, they’re looking beyond Washington, D.C. and across the U.S.-Canada border for support.
Canada has a long history of opposing oil development in ANWR. That opposition comes down to the caribou.
“If there is development in this area and when we do lose the caribou, that will be a significant channel of life that will have dried up and shut down forever,” Dana Tizya-Tramm, a Vuntut Gwitchin council member in Canada’s Yukon Territory, said. “My people will remember the death of the caribou and the death of this area for thousands of years.”
The Porcupine Caribou Herd migrates into Canada and is hunted by the Gwitchin who live there. Like the Gwich’in in Alaska, Tizya-Tramm believes any disturbance of the herd’s calving grounds in the refuge is a threat to his community.
This is not a new issue. In 1987, the United States signed a treaty with Canada, requiring both countries to “avoid or minimize activities” that would disrupt the Porcupine Caribou Herd. Now, as the Trump administration pursues oil development in the Refuge, Tizya-Tramm said the agreement means the U.S. is obligated to consult with Canada before it drills there.
“We really have a legitimate voice here…that belongs in this issue,” Tizya-Tramm said.
Canada’s leadership agrees — its position is that the Porcupine Caribou Herd’s habitat should be permanently protected. In an emailed statement, Colin Shonk, a spokesperson for the Canadian Embassy, said, “the federal, territorial and Indigenous governments in Canada are united in their commitment to conservation of the herd and its habitat.”
“We remain committed to the implementation of the 1987 Agreement between Canada and the U.S. to protect the herd,” Shonk said.
Environmental groups in the U.S. see the treaty as a way to stall the push for oil development in the refuge.
“Certainly the Canadians have made it clear that they expect the treaty to be observed and implemented,” Mike Anderson, a lawyer with the Wilderness Society in Seattle, said. “This is not what necessarily the Trump administration wants, in terms of their rushed timeline.”
Anderson said if the U.S. abides by the treaty, it will have to take a careful look at potential impacts on the Porcupine Herd. And that, he hopes, will spur Congress to reconsider whether drilling should be allowed. But Anderson acknowledges the treaty has limits — he said the final decision will be up to the U.S.
Jutta Brunnée, a professor and an expert in international environmental law with the University of Toronto, agrees. Brunnée says the agreement is legally binding, and its strength lies in the requirement for the U.S. to “promptly” consult with Canada if the herd is significantly harmed.
Canada is entitled to consultation, but “that’s, I think, as far as we can take it,” Brunnée said. “There is no commitment that either side makes that they would stop development.”
That said, American supporters of oil development in ANWR are not unconcerned about Canadian interference. To the dismay of Alaska’s congressional delegation, Canadian representatives in Washington, D.C., lobbied against the provision in last year’s Tax Bill that opened up the refuge to drilling. Senator Dan Sullivan said, in response, he called the Canadian ambassador for what he referred to as “a very frank discussion.”
“And the first thing I said was, ‘Ambassador, I’m not sure you understand what your own country’s interests are,’” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he told the Canadian Ambassador that Alaska’s congressional delegation is “the most pro-Canada delegation in Congress.” Then, Sullivan said, he told the Canadian ambassador to cease and desist the lobbying campaign.
In later meetings with Canadian officials, Sullivan said he passed along this message:
“We’re of course going to work with Canada, but this kind of action undermines your own country’s interest. Because we’re going to remember it,” Sullivan said.
True to his word, Sullivan said he’s preparing to introduce a bill related to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund — a fund that oil producers must pay in to, used to cover the cost of oil spill cleanups.
“And there was always a glitch — always…in some ways, a loophole, that Canadian tar sands that comes across the border into the United States, produced in Alberta, has never had to pay that fee,” Sullivan said. “Well, I think we should close that loophole.”
Asked if the bill will be in direct response to Canada’s lobbying actions last year, Sullivan said the move was under consideration before Canada opposed the ANWR provision.
But, the Senator added, “let’s just put it — we were thinking about it. We hadn’t made a final decision. And their actions certainly helped us make the final decision.”
Like many proponents of drilling in ANWR, Sullivan said he believes the Porcupine Caribou Herd can stay healthy alongside oil development, if it’s done responsibly.
But Sullivan also didn’t dismiss the fact that the U.S. has an obligation to uphold the 1987 treaty. So Canada could ultimately take its seat at the table — but whether it can convince the U.S. to stop oil development in ANWR is a much taller order.
House passes bill to allow bonds to pay off oil and gas tax credits
Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO – Juneau
The Alaska House passed a bill today that would allow the state government to issue bonds to pay off tax credits to oil and gas companies.
Ethics panel dismisses complaint over lawmaker moving costs
Associated Press
A legislative ethics committee has dismissed a complaint against an Alaska lawmaker over his “aggressive use” of the Legislature’s moving policy.
As the U.S. moves to open ANWR to drilling, Canada says, ‘not so fast’
Elizabeth Harball, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage
As part of their strategy going forward, opponents to drilling in ANWR are looking beyond Washington, D.C. and across U.S.-Canada border for support.
Hawkins says he has cancer, will stay in governor’s race
Associated Press
Alaska Republican gubernatorial contender Scott Hawkins says he has pancreatic cancer but will continue his campaign.
Anchorage snowmachiner dies in glacier avalanche
Emily Russell, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage
An Anchorage man has died after being swept up in an avalanche Wednesday afternoon.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry visits the Kodiak Archipelago
Mitch Borden, KMXT – Kodiak
While on a recent day trip to Kodiak to tour the community’s electrical grid that’s almost entirely powered by renewable energy, Senator Lisa Murkowski and the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, hopped on a plane and took a quick detour to the small community of Old Harbor.
New bill would change ferry system management
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska – Juneau
Legislation that would change the way the Alaska Marine Highway System runs was introduced last week.
Alaska recyclers find new overseas markets
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska – Juneau
China’s restrictions on importing mixed paper and some plastics is affecting recycling worldwide. But in Southeast Alaska, most communities continue to accept those materials.
Kenai Peninsula’s last bowling alley closes after nearly 60 years of operation
Renee Gross, KBBI – Homer
Homer bowlers had their final chance to throw 10 frames Saturday at Kachemak Bowl before the building was turned over to Regent Life Church. That’s left several bowlers in Homer unsure about what they’ll do without the sport.
The clock has stopped; Kuskokwim Ice Classic announces 3 winners
Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK – Bethel
The Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod sunk through the ice, stopping the clock at 7:51 p.m. on Wednesday. With that, the competition designated three lucky winners to take home thousands of dollars in prize money.
Rep. Jason Grenn, I-Anchorage, during a House floor session last year. Grenn spoke in favor of a bill that would allow the state to issue bonds to pay off oil and gas tax credits. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
The Alaska House passed a bill today that would allow the state government to issue bonds to pay off tax credits owed to oil and gas companies.
The state owes the companies more than $800 million in credits.
The measure, House Bill 331, would allow the state to pay the credits off quickly. Anchorage independent Rep. Jason Grenn said this will allow more investment for oil development and exploration.
“Let’s do it in a way that directly addresses the uncertainty, particularly for small oil and gas exploration companies,” Grenn said. “Getting these tax credits off our books in a shorter timeline frees up those frozen credit markets. It allows new development to continue and it provides certainty in a time when our economy needs it most.”
State payments for the credits slowed as oil prices fell. But companies have said the delayed payments have hurt development. Both industry and labor unions support the bill.
Juneau Democratic Rep. Sam Kito III opposed the bill. He said the state shouldn’t commit to paying the tax credits early when state spending exceeds state revenue.
“I can’t say that we have our fiscal house in order,” Kito said.
The state would receive a discount of roughly 5 to 10 cents on the dollar, to cover the cost of issuing the bonds.
The bill would lower this year’s budget, since the initial cost of the bonds will be lower than the amount the state would have to pay in credits if the Legislature doesn’t pass the bill.
The vote on the bill was 23 to 15. Thirteen of the 22 members of the mostly Democratic majority voted against the measure. But all but two of the 16 voting members of the Republican minority – Reps. David Eastman of Wasilla and Mark Neuman of Big Lake — voted for it. Reps. Mike Chenault of Nikiski and Steve Thompson of Fairbanks were absent.
The ferry Malaspina sails out of Juneau’s Auke Bay terminal in 2012. It’s one ship in a shrinking, aging marine highway fleet. A new bill would turn over management to a public corporation. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
Legislation changing the way the Alaska Marine Highway System is run was introduced last week.
House Bill 412 calls for ferry management and operations to be transferred to a publicly owned corporation. Ships and terminals would remain state property.
Southeast Conference Executive Director Robert Venables worked with legislative staff writing the bill. He said it would take control of the ferry system away from politicians and political appointees.
“It provides an executive board that has deep maritime and business expertise into a model of governance that brings labor and management together working towards common causes and common goals of delivering the best predictable service to the state and the traveling public,” Venables said.
Southeast Conference pushed for development of the marine highway in the 1950s. It’s continued its strong involvement in the system since then.
The state-funded ferry system has reduced its fleet and sailings over several years due to budget cuts. The age of the fleet also means frequent interruptions in the schedule.
The legislation is based on studies done for what’s called the Alaska Marine Highway Reform Project. Its research includes a review of other ferry systems. It also gathered information from community leaders, passengers and businesses that use the ferries.
“We’ve been talking a lot of concepts lately and this is an opportunity now to have and to hold the actual statutory language that would create the public corporation,” Venables said.
The bill has been assigned to the House Transportation Committee. Co-chairwoman Louise Stutes’ office led the effort to write the measure. She was not immediately available for comment.
No action is expected this year, so the bill will have to be reintroduced for the next legislative session. But backers expect field hearings before then.
Janeshia Adams-Ginyard (right) takes a photo with a family at the Youth Summit at Clark Middle School (Photo by Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage)
Grossing over a billion dollars worldwide and boasting some of the highest critical reviews of the year, the movie Black Panther has become a global phenomenon. The film has maintained high levels of renown for its primarily African American cast in diverse and nuanced roles.
Residents of Anchorage got a chance to get up close and personal with the film when one of the stuntwomen and actresses from the film visited Clark Middle School to talk to the Mountain View community last Saturday.
Clark Middle School is the most ethnically diverse middle school in the United States according to demographers. It’s right up the street from East Anchorage High School, the most diverse high school in the country, and lies on the entrance to Mountain View, the most diverse census tract in the country.
In partnership with local nonprofit Shiloh Community Development Inc., Clark hosted a Youth Summit which ended with a talk from Janeshia Adams-Ginyard, a stuntwoman and actress from Black Panther. Cessilye Williams is the school principal and helped organize the summit.
“I just think it has great inspiration and role models that are in that picture for so many levels of people,” principal Williams said.
From the sound in the auditorium, it was clear Adams-Ginyard was the highest anticipated moment of the summit, which was put on to promote positive family development and empower youth in school and life.
One of the attendees was Cal Williams, a local advocate and self described performing historian. Williams, no relation to Clark’s principal, has lived in Anchorage since 1965, and he said that his pool of role models who looked like him was very small when he was growing up.
“So we kids grew up idolizing Tarzan as opposed to the Africans. We sided with the cowboy as opposed to the Indians,” Cal Williams said. “We always wanted to be the hero on the white horse with the white hat. That was the portrayal of heroes in my growing up.”
Cal Williams says that the film Black Panther serves as a template for getting rid of negative stereotypes of Black Americans.
“All of the negative images that we see, oftentimes the only time we are portrayed in the news or in the media is associated with crime or something negative,” Cal Williams said. “And to have this positive image go forward is uplifting to our youth and to us older people as well.”
One of the youth uplifted by the film is 13-year-old Nahla White. She attends Clark and was part of the drumline that helped introduce the guest of honor that day.
White says that oftentimes, films don’t offer nuanced portrayals of black people.
“I feel as if there was maybe more representation of maybe black people who like anime in movies or who like to draw or like art,” White said. “And I just feel like there’s not enough of that.”
Janeshia Adams-Ginyard signs autographs for families at the Youth Summit. (Photo by Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage)
But on Saturday, there was no lack of diversity in the crowd, something very apparent to Adams-Ginyard, the guest of honor.
“After speaking to everyone out there in the audience, I could see that,” Adams-Ginyard said. “I saw representation from almost all groups. Almost all groups.”
Adams Ginyard says when she was growing up, it was hard to find positive role models in the media. something she hopes she and other actors in the film can change, She wants young people to look at her and her castmates like she looked at her own personal hero, actress and singer Grace Jones.
“Dark skin. Beautiful. Regal. I mean, she just… her presence commanded attention,” Adams-Ginyard said. “And she didn’t have to say anything and it was just so powerful.”
Throughout the summit, attendees attested to why Black Panther provided so many positive role models. Some noted the intelligence, poise and power of the characters and the fictional afrofuturistic nation of Wakanda.
Ron Brown, an assistant principal at Bartlett High School — which happens to be the second most diverse high school in the country — says he’s optimistic that more characters like this will pop up in future movies due to the film’s box office domination.
“As long as we have people who look at the bottom line which is dollars, I think this is only the start of something bigger,” Brown said. “I have to believe that. I’m in education. I work with young folks. I have to believe that that’s what’s gonna happen in the future”
For five-year-old Dabria Wrencher, she’s just happy to have found her own connection with the character of Shuri, the titular protagonist’s sister. Dabria has long hair, and she loved that Shuri did, too.
Update: This story has been updated to clarify that Cessilye Williams, the principal at Clark Middle School, and Cal Williams, the advocate, are not related.
Lyndea Kelleher of Anchorage. (Photo by Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage)
This week we’re hearing from Lyndea Kelleher in Anchorage. Kelleher is graduating from the University of Alaska Anchorage on Sunday and will be the student speaker at the commencement ceremony.
KELLEHER: So, my mom is not from the United States; she’s from the Philippines. And so for her, she really pushed her children to get an education because after that, you can do whatever you want. Basically, she was very, very encouraging and supportive of whatever we wanted. For me, she was like, “Yeah. You can go become the president, and a doctor, and a lawyer.” But yeah, my thing was always like, “I’ll be Doctor, Lawyer Kelleher, future president.” So there was never one thing where, “my sights were set on this.” It was always, “just get your education and then anything you want to do, the door is open.”
When I left for San Francisco, I was so heartbroken. I was like, “This is not Alaska. The trees are all wrong. Where do I go hiking? What do I do?” And I had such a great childhood growing up here. I went to a very diverse school. The academics were great, I had a lot of opportunities. And so, I would one hundred percent want that for my own family. You’re crazy to leave Alaska.
I think coming to UAA, it was really great because it gave me so many opportunities. And I never knew that I would end up interning for the mayor.
At the time, I was really interested in the economic empowerment of women, and so that’s kinda what I pitched them with. And so they were like, “You know, we’re not doing anything specifically on that, but we have some programs that we’re working on right now that have to do with empowerment of youth and immigrants and minorities.” And definitely the work that can be done for empowering women can be applied to all these other communities.
And so I’m kinda like, if there was a way that I could join urban planning and policy together and then do all that work at once, that would be my dream job.
I always joke about saying I wanna be mayor, but it’s like, I kinda do wanna be mayor. But I think I would hate running for office, just because it’s so much work being in the public eye. But I feel like it’s a definite possibility that you’ll see my face somewhere being like, “Vote for Lyndea.”
The Bristol Bay village on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula first reported seeing walrus hauled out in early April.
Village resident John Christensen was riding his four-wheeler when he first spotted them.
“We went for a ride up the beach and ran into a large amount of walrus, a few hundred of them. We’ve never seen anything like this here before,” Christensen said.
Over the course of a month, the residents saw more groups of the ungainly marine mammal resting on the shores from Hook Lagoon to Strogonof Point.
“There has been an increase in the walruses,” Christensen said April 25. “At first there was only a few hundred spotted pods all over the place. Now there’s more. We couldn’t get a good view from the distance we were at, but it looks like there’s over a thousand.”
Alaska Department of Fish and Game area management biologist Bob Murphy flew May 1 the shoreline from Pilot Point to Port Moller.
“We did see 100 animals where I’ve never seen 100 walrus hauled out before,” Murphy said, noting also that the stretch of flat, sandy beach where the walrus lay was atypical topography for a walrus haul out. “Usually walrus like to have a cape behind them.”
Walrus pods are prone to stampeding off a beach and into the water if disturbed, which can result in some animals trampling others.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects walrus from harassment to guard against needless death and injury.
Harassment could include noisy fishing boats passing too near to the resting walrus.
In the Ugashik District, for example, Fish and Game changed the line for the commercial salmon fishery in 2016 and 2017 when more than a thousand walrus hauled out at Cape Greig.
The amended boundary allowed the walrus and boats a one-mile buffer zone.
It is too early to rule out such a measure for the Alaska Peninsula Area, or to know to know whether the walrus will even be there in a few weeks.
“It could just be they’re just staging there for a bit or resting and they’re eventually going to go to their traditional haul out areas,” Murphy said. “We’re just going to keep an eye on it and see if they disappear or if more show up or if they move around. The place that they were in is an area that is closed to commercial salmon fishing, so I think if they stayed there, they would be no obstructions to anything. But, more than likely, I would expect that they may move.”
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, walrus have hauled out near Port Heiden before, but it has been about two decades.
As Port Heiden residents wait to see whether their new guests are here for the summer or just making a pit stop, they say that they are keeping their distance to ensure they don’t disturb the animals.
