By Editor, on September 21st, 2011  Governor Sean Parnell and Revenue Commissioner Bryan Butcher released the amount of the 2011 Permanent Fund Dividend Press release:
ANCHORAGE–Governor Sean Parnell today announced that 647,549 eligible Alaskans will receive a 2011 Permanent Fund Dividend in the amount of $1,174. According to the Department of Revenue, 676,000 Alaskans applied for the 2011 Dividend. This represents a one percent increase over 2010 applications.
Read more->
By Editor, on September 14th, 2011 by Thomas Sowell | TOWNHALL
The grand myth that has been taught to whole generations is that the government is “forced” to intervene in the economy when there is a downturn that leaves millions of people suffering. The classic example is the Great Depression of the 1930s.
What most people are unaware of is that there was no Great Depression until AFTER politicians started intervening in the economy.
Read Part I in Townhall.com.
Read Part II in Townhall.com.
Read Part II in Townhall.com.
By Editor, on September 13th, 2011 By Pat Forgey | JUNEAU EMPIRE
JUNEAU–Alaska’s retirement savings accounts, second in size in the state only to the Alaska Permanent Fund, had stellar returns in the just completed 2011 fiscal year, new state data shows.
The strong returns will help out the state’s underfunded retirement plans with the addition of $2.9 billion to the funds’ assets during the year.
Read the whole story in the Juneau Empire.
By Editor, on September 2nd, 2011 By Dan Joling | ASSOCIATED PRESS
An investigation of a federal scientist in Alaska whose observations of drowned polar bears spurred national publicity on climate warming was started after allegations made by another Interior Department employee.
Read full article in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Roger Maynard, on August 31st, 2011  HAINES–The Olerud family’s side-by-side Alaska Sport Shop and Olerud’s Market Center present an attractive welcome to visitors arriving in Haines by highway. The new facelift on the Market Center adds a tasteful appearance to Main Street, as well as practical amenities such as covered porches and handicap access for customers. Read more->
By Editor, on August 26th, 2011  State of Alaska press release
ANCHORAGE–The State of Alaska filed an appeal challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2008 listing of the polar bear as a threatened species. The state seeks to overturn a June decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that upheld the listing. Read more->
By Editor, on August 24th, 2011  Sen. Lisa Murkowski By Dan Joling | AP
Federal budget cuts are on the way and programs dear to Alaskans, such as highway and defense construction and rural health care, may not be spared over the next decade, according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
The country is drowning in debt, the Republican senator said Tuesday in a speech to Commonwealth North that was billed as a preview of the Capitol Hill agenda over the next four months.
Read more in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on August 14th, 2011 Craig Medred | ALASKA DISPATCH
HOMER — A packed room of angry and worried small businessmen fearful the federal government is about to bankrupt them got some simple advice Friday night on how to deal with the Washington, D.C. bureaucracy: “Send a letter.”
That was the best Glenn Merrill, assistant regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, could offer charter boat skippers facing imposition of what is being called a “halibut catch sharing” plan.
Read full article in the Alaska Dispatch.
By Editor, on August 11th, 2011 By Gov. Sean Parnell | ADN COMPASS Opinion
ALASKA–This spring, the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers released a draft guidance document that will be used to decide which waters and wetlands will be protected by the Clean Water Act.
If allowed to stand, these guidelines could place an additional 40 percent of Alaska’s wetlands and non-navigable waters under federal jurisdiction. The proposed guidance is ambiguous, capricious and unlawful. It ignored using a cooperative process with the 50 states, as mandated by the Clean Water Act. And it skirted the formal rule making required by the Administrative Procedures Act.
Read the full opinion column in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Roger Maynard, on August 10th, 2011  The Haines Borough Assembly voted unanimously to revisit the issue of off-premises signs, setting the matter for another public hearing on September 27.
The motion to revisit the issue was made by assemblyman Waterman who said, “What happened in our haste–we could have postponed it instead of voting not to pass it–we didn’t want to kill it. We wanted the planning commission to address concerns that were brought up. We wanted the planning commission to give us their opinion and thought process behind it. The perception was that we killed it. What we did was send it back to the planning commission.”
Rossman said he thought off-premises signs were self-regulating anyway, saying, “You can’t put a sign on someone’s property without their permission.”
Correction: The hearing date is set for September 27, not August 27 as originally reported. The Borough Assembly set the September date so that the planning commission could review the issue at their next meeting and give recommendations to the assembly. The planning commission’s next regular meeting is September 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the assembly chambers.
By Roger Maynard, on August 10th, 2011  Haines Recall Committee chairman Jim Shook reports that as of Tuesday morning, the petition sponsors had gathered 268 signatures. With 3 days to go until the “drop dead” date, it looks like the issue could make it onto the October 4 municipal ballot.
In order to be certified, the petition must have 275 valid signatures. The committee’s target is 300 signatures as a safe margin in case some of the signatures are duplicates or otherwise disqualified. Though the signature gathering seemed to slow over the weekend, the committee has redoubled its efforts during the past few days. Read more->
By Editor, on August 10th, 2011 Jeff Richardson | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Sen. Lisa Murkowski is using a historic gathering to make a simple point this week: Alaska is different.
Read full article in the News-Miner.
By Editor, on August 10th, 2011 The federal investigation into suspended wildlife biologist Charles Monnett has focused on the scientific merit of a 2006 article in which he and a colleague recorded their observations of apparently drowned polar bears in the Arctic, a watchdog group said Tuesday.
In the article, the ADN reports:
[U.S. Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., has] said that Monnett’s work has been cited by witnesses before his committee and provided “the foundation” for the government’s decision in 2008 to list the polar bear as a threatened species, the first with its survival at risk due to global warming.
“As a result, critical habitat for the polar bear was designated, which added additional layers of onerous regulations to oil and gas development in 187,000 square miles of land in Alaska,” he said, adding that accusations against Monnett’s work “could be serious and have far reaching consequences.”
Read the full article in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Editor, on August 8th, 2011 by Alan Bailey | PETROLEUM NEWS
In the Parnell administration’s latest foray against what it sees as federal overreach in the management of the Alaska’s lands and natural resources, it has voiced strong objections to proposed new water and wetlands guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Read full article in the Anchorage Daily News
Read State of Alaska press release.
By Roger Maynard, on August 3rd, 2011
 Haines Harbor ramp |
HAINES–At the Haines Borough Assembly meeting on July 26, the assembly struck down a proposed change to the borough signage ordinances that would have allowed business owners the ability to obtain a permit for “off-premises” signs that direct customers to their shop. |
Read more->
By Editor, on July 28th, 2011  Becky Bohrer | ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal wildlife biologist whose observation in 2004 of presumably drowned polar bears in the Arctic helped to galvanize the global warming movement has been placed on administrative leave and is being investigated for scientific misconduct, possibly over the veracity of that article.
Charles Monnett is an Anchorage-based scientist with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.
Read full article in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.
By Editor, on July 26th, 2011  Governor Sean Parnell was joined by lawmakers, stakeholders and project leaders to provide an update on the Susitna-Watana hydro project. State of Alaska press release:
July 25, 2011, Anchorage, Alaska – Two weeks after signing legislation necessary to move the Susitna-Watana hydroelectric project forward, Governor Sean Parnell today said the state is recruiting its Susitna-Watana hydro project team and he expects first power from the major hydropower system on the Susitna River by 2023. Licensing the project is expected to take six years and construction will take five years. Read more->
By Editor, on July 25th, 2011 by Andrew Halcro | andrewhalcro.com
July 25, 2011: Alaskans have learned to expect consistent behavior from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when it comes to resource development; consistently bad.
The EPA will soon decide on whether to unilaterally impose a more stringent national standard for air quality, despite concerns that doing so will violate our own federal Clean Air Act…
Read more at andrewhalcro.com.
By Editor, on July 23rd, 2011 By Richard Mauer | ADN
ANCHORAGE–Alaska Newspapers Inc. will publish its last weeklies in August then shut the doors on Bethel’s Tundra Drums, the 97-year-old Cordova Times and four other rural publications, its corporate owners announced Friday.
In addition to the Drums and the Cordova Times, the newspapers that will be shuttered are the Arctic Sounder in northern Alaska, the Bristol Bay Times, the Seward Phoenix LOG and the Dutch Harbor Fisherman. The bimonthly magazine First Alaskans will also cease publication. The company’s printing business, Camai Printing, which produced the newspapers and other publications, is also targeted for sale or closure.
The shutdown will leave most of the communities served by the chain without newspapers.
Read more in the Anchorage Daily News.
By Roger Maynard, on July 13th, 2011  HAINES–One month ago the Haines Borough Assembly violated state statutes and borough ordinances when they decided to leave Assembly Seat E vacant for the rest of the year until election time in October. Those present at the meeting were alarmed by the actions of the assembly, and by their disrespect toward the public, and we wrote about it here in the Haines Alaska News.
For obvious reasons, it would make sense to appoint Karen Hess to the vacant seat until the October election, however three assembly members are politically opposed to seating Hess, offering to seat nearly any other member of the public instead. Members Rossman and Lapp stood steadfastly behind Hess.
When the Assembly decided they were deadlocked and there was no way forward, they “compromised” by agreeing not to fill that seat until the October election. In reality, this was no compromise at all — just an agreement to shirk their duty to Haines voters by not doing the job required by law. Read more->
By Editor, on July 13th, 2011 CBC News
Canada is set to include the polar bear on its list of species at risk, but not as a threatened or endangered species.
The federal government gave notice this month that it intends to list the Arctic animal as a species of special concern — one level below threatened and two levels below endangered — under the Species at Risk Act.
Read full article at CBC.ca.
By Roger Maynard, on June 30th, 2011  Congressman Don Young addresses Alaskans at Dyea while District 5 Republican vice-chair Kathy Hosford looks on. SKAGWAY–Bright, sunny weather greeted Congressman Don Young when he visited Skagway and Dyea Monday afternoon. After a tour of the ore terminal and newly constructed waterfront facilities with city officials, he made an appearance at a District 5 Republican fundraiser at the Chilkoot Trail Outpost in Dyea.
Speaking to a crowd of about 60 people, Young covered subjects from federal control over Alaska and its residents to natural gas, oil and the economy.
Read more->
By Roger Maynard, on June 30th, 2011 I just spent a great week traveling through Southeast Alaska where I had the opportunity to tour important projects, meet with city leaders, and hear from many constituents. I have learned both the challenges and opportunities before Alaskans in several Southeast communities.
It was an honor and privilege to meet with so many of you. I want to thank the communities of Craig, Klawock, Skagway, Juneau, and Haines for their warm welcome and wonderful hospitality. The many events I attended truly exhibited the Alaskan spirit and will help me to better represent you in Congress. I especially thank those of you that traveled from one community or another to meet with me and share your ideas and concerns.
Southeast Alaska is truly blessed with its abundant resources, good people, and, as I found in all of my travels, plenty of sunshine. Warmest wishes, best regards and God bless.
Don Young
Congressman for All Alaska
By Editor, on June 30th, 2011 By Sophia Pearson | BLOOMBERG
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to list polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act was reasonable, a federal judge ruled, rejecting challenges that it limits resource development in Alaska.
The agency’s decision “represents a reasoned exercise” of its discretion based on the facts and the available science in 2008 when it made the determination, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan inWashington wrote today in a 116-page ruling granting the government’s request to uphold the decision.
Read full article in Bloomberg.
Read full Memorandum Opinion: IN RE: POLAR BEAR ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT LISTING AND 4(d) RULE LITIGATION – MDL 1993
By Roger Maynard, on June 29th, 2011 JUNEAU–Governor Sean Parnell today signed into law three appropriation bills containing the Operating and Capital budgets, and the Mental Health Operating and Capital budgets.
As enacted, the operating and capital budgets total $11.4 billion, including $6.9 billion in state general funds. State operating budget growth has been limited to 2.9%. The capital budget, which focuses heavily on energy projects, totals $2.8 billion, includes $1.6 billion in state general funds.
Budget items that are specific to Haines Borough total about 8.5 million; statewide and region-wide items which may, in part, be distributed to Haines are not included in this estimate. Read the list of Haines projects below: Read more->
|
|
| Nate Beeler
The Columbus Dispatch
May 16, 2012
|
Lynn Canal Map & Marine Traffic (refresh for current ship positions)
Publisher Information:
Publisher Information:
Alaska Alliance for Commerce, Inc. (AAFC)
P.O. Box 784
Haines, Alaska 99827
Editor:
Roger L. Maynard
P.O. Box 784
Haines, Alaska 99827
editor@hainesnews.net
The Haines Alaska News is a public information service of the Alaska Alliance for Commerce, Inc., a grassroots movement organized to advocate for small business and a free market economy in Alaska.
The AAFC is organized under section 501(C)(4) of the U.S. Tax Code; contributions are not tax deductible. |
|
| Help us keep you informed.
See complete publisher info at the bottom left sidebar. |
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 NIV
|
-- View all advertisers --
-- View all advertisers --
-- View all advertisers --
