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Experts can disagree. And they ARE disagreeing, both about the lethality of the coronavirus, and about the appropriateness of the steps that have been taken to protect public health. Compare the differing perspectives of Knut M. Wittkowski, PhD, and Dr. Michael Ryan. Wittkowski, former head of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design at the Rockefeller University, suggests children should return to school and pass the virus around just like every flu season, while... Full story
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan held an electronic town hall meeting last week to talk about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and what kind of aid it provides to small businesses. In their town hall meeting, the senators focused on several key provisions. One was the Paycheck Protection Program. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the program offers a loan designed to provide an incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll in...
The borough assembly established a local emergency disaster fund in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at their meeting on Monday and moved funds to the Petersburg Economic development Council to help businesses who have been financially affected by the virus. The local emergency disaster fund was created by an emergency ordinance, which requires only one reading to be passed and lasts for 60 days. Because the borough anticipates the local emergency disaster fund being needed past the 60 days,...
In a 4-3 vote, the borough assembly passed an ordinance in its third reading that would establish a new Parks and Recreation Advisory Board at their meeting on Monday. Ordinance #2020-05 allows the assembly to begin accepting letters of interest from the public and then appoint five members onto the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Those appointed to the board would serve until the borough election in October wherein duly elected members will serve on the board. A sunset clause was added...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)– Alaska government officials and fishing industry professionals are making plans to ensure the state can have a strong summer salmon season amid changes forced by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Alaska’s chief medical officer says the state has a fisheries work group looking at how small communities can handle influxes of fishermen and processing workers while adhering to health guidelines, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. “We know the fish are coming regardless of COVID-19 or not and we can’t ask the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)–An Alaska official trying to promote participation in the national census has urged residents to file their forms online and by phone as the state falls behind the national response average. The push for remote filing comes as efforts by the U.S. Census Bureau to collect residency data have been been hampered by the cornoavirus pandemic, Alaska Public Media reported Monday. The outbreak prompted the agency to close field offices and delay door-to-door interviews. The national response rate stands at nearly 43%, but l...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced wide-ranging budget vetoes Tuesday amid a collapse in oil prices, citing expectations that many of the larger cuts, including aid for schools and local governments, would be offset through use of federal funds tied to COVID-19 relief. Some legislators questioned whether the money can be used that way. “There is no guarantee that the federal government will pick up the tab. This approach is incredibly troubling to me,”House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, said in a state...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration has launched a new virtual school for Alaska students in partnership with a Florida program, garnering some criticism from educators adjusting their lessons to online teaching amid the coronavirus pandemic. The state of Alaska signed a $525,000 contract through February 2021 with the Florida Virtual School, which had enrolled about 80 Alaska students by Friday, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported. “The ‘fourth-quarter solution’ that is suggested through the purchase of this Flo...
Don't feel helpless To the Editor: In this sci-fi "reality" we are immersed in currently, I want to encourage my fellow Alaskans not to feel helpless. There is more we can do to help ourselves stay healthy than just isolate, wash hands, wear masks, and hunker down. My apologies if my comments seem obvious. This is not medical advice, just common sense and deductions from reading peer-reviewed studies found at PubMed and other sites, the same sources our doctors can access if they choose....
The State of Alaska wants input on plans to distribute nearly $24.5 million in federal disaster relief funds for stakeholders and communities hurt by the 2018 Gulf of Alaska cod crash. Better make it quick – the deadline to comment is April 10. Cod is Alaska’s second largest groundfish harvest (after pollock), but the Gulf stock dropped by 80% in 2018 following a three year heatwave that disrupted food webs, fish metabolism and egg survival on the ocean floor. It combined to push down cod catches to just 28.8 million pounds, compared to nea...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska lawmakers fell short of a self-imposed goal of completing their most pressing work Friday, with key measures, including a state spending package and bills related to the coronavirus, yet to be finalized. Friday marked Day 67 of a legislative session that, under the constitution, can run up to 121 days, with an option to extend further. But many lawmakers are eager to get home amid concerns with the coronavirus, and Friday was targeted by legislative leaders as a goal for completing work seen as more critical. Senate...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaskans will have more time to apply for a Permanent Fund dividend this year. Anne Weske, director of the state division that determines dividend eligibility, on Tuesday said applications submitted before midnight on April 30 will be considered timely for the 2020 filing season. She said by email the action is related to a bill passed last weekend by lawmakers. The filing deadline had been Tuesday. But a bill passed by the Legislature, extending Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s public health disaster emergency declaration over the...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska lawmakers early Sunday approved a budget that set this October’s oil wealth fund check to nearly every single Alaskan at about $1,000, but did not approve a second dividend intended to help residents struggling with the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus. Lawmakers worked into the early morning hours to approve the budget, and then took an extended recess to allow members to go to their homes in response to the coronavirus. The Senate in its budget plan had included a $1,000 economic stimulus pay...
The U.S. seafood industry received a $300 million assist from the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress on March 27, and a wide coalition of industry stakeholders is hoping for more. Fishery recipients in the relief bill include tribes, persons, communities, processors, aquaculture and other related businesses. SeafoodNews.com reports that those eligible for relief must have “revenue losses greater than 35 percent as compared to the prior 5-year average revenue, or any negative impacts to subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial f...
Sen. Bert Stedman has been serving Southeast communities for 17 years. He is the Senate Finance Committee co-chair. It did not take a positive test for the Alaska State Legislature to begin addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and treat it with an urgency the virus deserves. Rather, the Senate acted swiftly on March 11 – one day before the state announced its first confirmed case in Alaska– when it passed the first of five bills in a three-week period. As we communicated with our respective com... Full story
While we applaud the work of Wrangell's health care providers as they prepare for the uncertain times before us, it's important to remember that they need us as much as we need them. Every citizen has a part to play in flattening the curve so small hospitals like Wrangell's aren't overwhelmed with stricken patients from COVID-19 infections. Key to flattening the curve is testing symptomatic patients, proper hand washing and social distancing or isolation. Presently SEARHC does not release... Full story
Be nice people To the Editor: I've seen a lot of bashing on social media lately... this is not a time to panic and lash out at others. I personally feel like our community is doing a great job of being proactive about this whole situation we are all in. On that note.... it's simple. Stay home, don't go outside for anything if you feel so inclined but we live in Southeast Alaska for a reason. Some of us have boats, cabins, we love beachcombing, camping, etc. That does not mean we don't take it...
The Pacific halibut fishery opened on March 14 amid little fanfare and flattened markets. The first fish of the eight month season typically attracts the highest prices and is rushed fresh to high-end buyers, especially during the Lenten season. But that’s not the case in this time of coronavirus chaos, when air traffic is stalled and seafood of all kinds is getting backlogged in global freezers. Alaska’s share of the 2020 halibut catch is about 17 million pounds for nearly 2,000 fishermen who own shares of the popular flatfish. A week int...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Senate approved a budget provision Monday that would give residents a $1,000 payment as a way to blunt economic impacts from the coronavirus. The provision, an amendment to a larger state spending package, passed 12-7 after the Senate rejected a proposed $1,300 stimulus payment. The underlying budget passed 17-1 later in the day, with Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold voting in opposition. The House will have to decide whether to agree to what passed the Senate. If theHouse does not agree, differences typically a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Spread of the coronavirus, with businesses considered nonessential also ordered to close to the public. The order was to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday and last for two weeks. It orders Juneau residents to stay at home as much as possible, except to work in critical jobs, get health care, groceries or other goods deemed critical and get fresh air without contacting others. People, when they do venture out, are to stay at least six feet from others outside their household when possible. An extensive list of businesses deemed...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Democratic Party will hold its party-run presidential primary exclusively by mail and is moving back the deadlines for returning and tabulating ballots. The party announced Monday it is canceling in-person voting sites planned for April 4 due to concerns with the coronavirus. But it is extending the deadline to return ballots by mail. Originally, ballots were to be postmarked by Tuesday. The party now says they must be received in Anchorage no later than April 10 to be counted. Results are expected no l...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a declaration of disaster emergency at Monday's assembly meeting in response to the COVID-19 outbreak across the country and state. Additionally, the assembly approved an emergency ordinance that would allow the assembly to declare a quorum by calling into an assembly meeting instead of being present. By declaring a disaster emergency, the borough is putting itself in position to better receive state and federal emergency funding should the borough requir...
WRANGELL - The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon, March 17. In response to the global spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which recently reached Alaska, the assembly decided to meet to determine how best to handle the situation, and mitigate chances of the virus spreading locally. There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wrangell as of March 17, but the assembly felt it was important to be proactive. As part of an effort to encourage social...
As our nation and the world experiences the life-altering impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, I wanted to take a moment to speak to you directly. If you’ve followed our many press conferences this week, you know that Alaska is rapidly preparing for an outbreak, and that an emergency was declared prior to our first confirmed case. Now that the inevitable first case has occurred, our schools are safely closed, testing requirements have been liberalized, and steps have been taken to protect our seniors. Visitation has been suspended or l...
Services suspended To the Editor: There will be no public celebration of Mass across the Diocese of Juneau or other large gatherings effective through Friday, March 27. This includes all public Liturgies, Masses, Benedictions, Stations of the Cross, faith formation classes, and other types of church activities. Today’s directive was made for the common good and for the people of God entrusted to our care - many of whom are considered high risk and vulnerable. In light of my directive, I want to let you know that you are temporarily dispensed f...
