HAINES–The Haines Planning Commission will host two town meetings to invite public comment on the draft Comprehensive Plan this week. The comprehensive plan is the “roadmap” for future borough decisions and is valid through 2025, and your public comment on this document is important in the implementation process.
The first meeting, in Haines, will be Wednesday May 16 from 6-8 p.m. in the Haines High School Commons.
The second meeting will be at the Mosquito Lake School, May 17, from 6-8 p.m.
The draft Comprehensive plan can be downloaded by going here. (Warning: 292 pages)
Food for thought: A provocative new video from the folks over at Americans for Limited Government promoting a new project focused on economic liberty and free market policies. Watch:
by Andrew Halcro
JUNEAU–As the Alaska State Legislature begins a special session today on oil tax reform, things are a little chilly in the Capitol. Between the House, the Governor and the Senate, there are more ill feelings than in all of Bartlett Memorial.
The biggest sticking point of the two year battle over oil tax reform has been the debate over the legacy fields on the North Slope. While the Governor and the House want to include these fields in tax reform, the Senate has balked thus creating a show down.
From Rep. Bill Thomas:
HAINES–The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation will be hosting a public workshop on April 17, 2012 at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. The purpose of the workshop is to gather public input on Chilkoot River corridor management recommendations and improvements planned for the area. There will be representatives from various agencies available at the workshop to answer questions and discuss corridor concerns.
by Dermot Cole | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
FAIRBANKS — The Wall Street Journal put a overoptimistic spin on the Point Thomson announcement Friday by Gov. Sean Parnell and the letter from three oil companies, claiming it “clears the way” for a natural gas pipeline.
However, the letter about natural gas signed by the chief executives of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP makes no commitments.
by Jeff Richardson | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS MINER
FAIRBANKS—A new survey on Alaska tourism has some in the industry worried. The survey shows that the once-common sight of RVs driving Alaska’s roads and highway is becoming more of a rarity. Read more->
HAINES: On 3/19/2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued a preliminary permit to Goat Lake Hydro (AP&T) to complete a feasibility study of their proposed Connelly Lake Hydro project. Additionally, the permit gives Goat Lake Hydro a priority over other companies to develop this particular resource.
The permit is not a license to construct a hydro project, but a preliminary step in the process that allows in-depth studies and planning to proceed, and a significant step toward adequate hydropower for northern Lynn Canal.
PUBLIC NOTICE
HAINES BOROUGH ASSEMBLY SPECIAL MEETING NOTIFICATION
Location: Borough Assembly Chambers, February 3, 2012 at 1:15 pm
PURPOSE: Consider Resolution 12-02-330 Declaring a disaster and requesting state assistance.
According to the agenda, “The slump in the Oceanview Drive/Lutak Road area continues to move and has breached the sewer line. It is anticipated that the area will continue to move and destroy public facilities. The manager has deemed it necessary to declare a disaster and request state assistance at this time.”
The Haines Alaska News will post more information as it becomes available; readers can also check the Haines Borough Website for updates.
Public Information Release
HAINES–6 PM Revision–Melting snow revealed an old manhole, not showing on any as builts, or known by local maintenance officials, during dye testing of the sewer line running through the middle of the slide area late this afternoon. This manhole is being compromised by the ground shifting close to a crack near the top of the slide area. Plans are being put together this evening to remove that manhole and to re‐connect the sewer line. This damage appears to be from earlier shifting in this location but has been buried under the snow, keeping it from detection.
Activity in the active area of the slope movement appeared to calmed down today with very little new visual movement detected.
The command center has been receiving very detailed information from several State and Federal offices in an effort to help in our planning efforts. Some of it is so detailed that we have to filter through the information to determine what is relevant to our event. If you have questions about any information you may be hearing rumors about, please contact the command center at 766‐2258.
Warmer weather will still be with us for a few more days, which is helping melt the snow, but also brings added concern to the area that is already over saturated.
Next scheduled update will be 3 PM Friday afternoon.
Command Center – 766‐2258 Roc Ahrens ~ Emergency Coordinator
DAILY Update Recording – 766‐22567
Alex DeMarban | ALASKA DISPATCH
Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens said Thursday that the Senate will soon hold a hearing on its own oil-tax reform bill, essentially declaring dead House Bill 110, legislation passed last year by the state House and fervently backed by Gov. Sean Parnell.
The Heritage Foundation
President Obama’s State of the Union address laid out his long-term economic recovery plans, which he claims will “work for everyone, not just a wealthy few.” That is, unless it is the pipeline construction business. President Obama’s politically intoned decision to reject TransCanada’s permit application to construct a 1,700-mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas refineries last week sent a clear message that special-interest demands are more important than more energy and much-needed job creation.
By Becky Bohrer | AP
JUNEAU–Some Alaska lawmakers, hoping to make a point about federal encroachment on state rights, are urging the federal government take over New York City’s Central Park and designate it as a wilderness area.
Image is from the NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and shows the solar flare that erupted Sunday evening
National Weather Service
The largest Solar Radiation Storm since October 2003 is occurring. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center is reporting that a G1 Geomagnetic Storm and a S3 Solar Radiation Storm are in progress.
Impacts for this event include:
Power Systems: Weak power fluctuations can occur
Spacecraft Operations: Minor impact on satellite operations
By Mary Pemberton | AP
A Russian tanker Wednesday was nearly finished pumping fuel to the iced-in city of Nome, having sent more than half of the 1.3 million gallons of diesel and gasoline through two hoses snaking across the ice.
The remote Western Alaska coastal city has been anticipating its winter fuel delivery since November when a powerful storm prevented the delivery by barge. The tanker left Russia in mid-December and pushed through miles of ice to begin the high-stakes delivery on Monday.
By Amanda Coyne | ALASKA DISPATCH
In a wide-ranging State of the State address Wednesday night, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell told Alaskans that much of the future of this state will be determined by the actions of legislators in the upcoming session.
by Jeff Richardson | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
FAIRBANKS—Gasoline prices in the $4-per-gallon range may be uncomfortably high for many Fairbanks residents, but Doug Reynolds believes prices in the years ahead could make these seem like the good old days.
Reynolds, a professor of oil and energy economics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said he sees oil prices soaring in the next five to 10 years, “easily” reaching $200 per barrel or more.
That increase, roughly double the current price of oil, would translate into gasoline in the $5 to $10 range at the pump, he said.
By Andrew Halcro
JUNEAU–According to the Alaska Department of Revenue, the state will depend on oil & gas revenues to fund 92% of state spending this coming fiscal year. With increasing government costs and decreasing oil production, Alaska’s economic engine needs an overhaul.
In 2007, just weeks after successfully pushing through the largest tax increase on the oil & gas industry in the state’s history (ACES), the Palin administration proudly predicted that oil production would be 675,000 barrels per day in 2011. The actual production number turned out to be 603,000 barrels per day.
In fact, according to the optimistic projections after the tax increase was adopted, the Palin administration didn’t forecast Alaska’s daily oil production would drop to current day levels until 2022.
Looks like we arrived at their projected decline destination ten years early.
by Jeff Richardson | FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
FAIRBANKS — Filing for an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend check is a happy ritual for most Alaskans, but this year some residents have been a little too eager to get their paperwork in the mail.
The Alaska Department of Revenue has received hundreds of applications this week for the 2012 PFD and expects as many as 1,000 could arrive in Juneau by the end of the year.
That prompt attention comes with a drawback: Applications aren’t valid unless they’re signed and delivered after Jan. 1.
By Hope Yen | AP
Texas, Utah and Alaska were the fastest-growing states in 2011, according to new Census Bureau estimates. Alaska’s population grew 1.8 percent from April 2010 through June 2011, double the nationwide average. Alaska’s estimated population on July 1, 2011, was 722,718, a gain of about 12,500, reports the Census Bureau.
By Diane Cardwell and Rick Gladstone | NY TIMES
The United States economy managed to cope this year despite triple-digit prices for barrels of oil. The lessons may come in handy, economists say, because those prices will probably be sticking around.
With Iran threatening to cut off about a fifth of the world’s oil supply by closing the Strait of Hormuz and unrest in Iraq endangering the ability to increase production there, financial analysts say prices for two important oil benchmarks will average from $100 a barrel to $120 a barrel in 2012.
By Jordy Yager | THE HILL
A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Justice Department to apologize to the family of the late Sen. Ted Stevens and fire the attorneys accused of the withholding of evidence that contributed to his criminal conviction.
The former colleagues of the long-serving Alaskan Republican told The Hill that the DOJ’s prosecution of Stevens was a disgrace.
Alex DeMarban | ALASKA DISPATCH
The National Marine Fisheries Service has renewed plans that may lead to a listing of the ribbon seals under the Endangered Species Act, bringing to three the number of ice-dependent seals in Alaska that could be protected by the act.
The agency rejected a ribbon-seal listing in 2008 but said new information warrants a second look. That’s disappointing news, said Rick Rogers, executive director with the pro-industry Resource Development Council in Anchorage.
The combined population of ribbon, bearded and ringed seal populations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas exceed 1 million animals, so why should they fall under the act’s protections, he wondered.
Mia Bennett | ALASKA DISPATCH
The U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, part of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, held a hearing earlier this month on U.S. Coast Guard operations in the Arctic. The chief topic of concern was icebreakers. As I reported back in February, the U.S. will be without heavy icebreakers for at least two years.
Paid commentary:
As you all probably know, AP&T has filed an application for a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Connelly Lake Hydroelectric Project (Project). We have read all of the comment letters that have been submitted to FERC as of November 21, 2011, and it seems like there are a few misconceptions about our plans. We’d like to take this opportunity to clarify a few matters regarding our interest in the Connelly Lake site. We have structured this as a series of questions and answers. Read more->
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.
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by Andrew Halcro
Mia Bennett | ALASKA DISPATCH
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