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KNBA News - Alaska works to combat sex trafficking; Sockeye Salmon headed to school lunches

KNBA News for Sept. 30, 2015

Mexican consulate in Anchorage to close

By Associated Press

Mexico is closing its consulate in Anchorage. KTVA-TV reports that members of the city's Hispanic community are starting a petition drive to keep it open. Daniel Esparza said nearly 4,000 Mexicans in Alaska receive services at the consulate annually. So far he has collected about 900 signatures. A representative from the consulate in Seattle will be in Anchorage today to discuss the closure.

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Slow coal market forces layoffs at Usibelli

Associated Press

Additional layoffs are planned at the Usibelli coal mine, as the owners halt exports due to the slow coal market. The Alaska Dispatch News reports that the mine previously cut workers at its Seward facility down to eight as exports slowed in the past year. Officials from Usibelli and subsidiary Aurora Energy Services met with employees Tuesday. State officials are launching a new task force on human trafficking in Alaska.

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Municipality of Anchorage, state of Alaska work to combat the trafficking of people for sex and labor

By Zachariah Hughes, APRN

The Department of Labor approached Mayor Ethan Berkowitz's administration about finding new enforcement strategies for combating state-wide problems with labor and sex trafficking. The task force is scheduled to meet for the first time this Monday in Anchorage, with partners from law enforcement, non-governmental, and tribal entities all at the table.

Though there are no details yet about funding, the Department of Labor is contributing resources. Neither Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas [DRY-gus] or Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz was available for comment, but an official from the mayor's administration wrote in a release that the Task Force's goal is enhancing legal and regulatory tools to reduce human trafficking across the state.

The task force will include partners from the FBI, Department of Public Safety, Anchorage Police Department, Covenant House and the YWCA, among others.

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Bristol Bay sockeye salmon to go to school lunches, other federal food programs

By Mollie Dischner, KDLG – Dillingham

Thousands of cans of Bristol Bay sockeye will make their way to school lunches and other federal food programs around the country this winter as part of a USDA bailout.

The United States Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday [Sept. 23, 2015] that it will buy half-pound cans of sockeye salmon from Icicle Seafoods and Peter Pan for federal food programs.

The USDA announced this summer that it would purchase up to $30 million worth of canned sockeye through its Emergency Food Assistance Program. Funding for the purchase came from import tariffs.

Trident and Ocean Beauty also submitted bids to the USDA, but didn’t offer the low price necessary to get the contracts.

The purchase is good news for the sockeye market, which had a glut of fish after two summers of large harvests, said University of Alaska Anchorage Economist Gunnar Knapp.

“If the USDA comes and says we’ll buy some of that salmon…why that takes some of that production out of the regular market channels that it would go to and it can make a very significant difference in helping processors to get a higher price," Knapp said.

The cans will first go to warehouses in most states. According to the solicitation, the fish will be delivered between Oct. 1 and February 28.

Food Bank of Alaska Executive Director Michael Miller said it’ll be a while before Alaska knows how much of the fish is headed back food banks in Alaska.

“When the USDA buys a commodity from any state, it is fair-shared out to all of the states based on level of need, level of poverty, and other commodities that they have in their system, so it’s very possible that we’ll see some, but it’s unlikely that we’ll see the majority of it," Miller said.