KNBA Morning Newscast for Monday July 27, 2015
Walker, Mallot Return Gifts
By Ellen Lockyer, APRN
Governor Bill Walker and Lt. Governor Byron Mallot will return sealskin vests given to them as gifts earlier this year in Kotzebue. The bearded seal vests were made by a daughter of North Slope Borough mayor Charlotte Brower, and paid for with Borough money.
An investigation into borough spending policies is ongoing, and Brower has been under criticism for signing off on payments to member of her family for goods and services. The vests cost $3500 each. Walker and Mallot were given them on behalf of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association at an Alaska Federation of Natives conference in February.
24 Bethel Liquor
By Ben Matheson, KYUK
The Bethel City Council is appealing the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s rejection of their protest of the Bethel Native Corporation’s package liquor store application. The council met in executive session last week for three and a half hours.
The ABC board on July 1st called the city’s protest of the proposed Bethel Spirits license arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable”, sparking outrage from the council. The board is required to uphold the protests unless they meet those criteria. Mayor Rick Robb says he’s personally in favor of local sales.
“But I do not think the protest was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable. I think the protest was valid, based on community standards, debate, process, public hearings, past votes, planning on future votes. All of those things were taken into consideration. The protest was very well thought out,” said Robb.
The ABC board has not decided on the status of the license and plans a public hearing in Bethel after the October election in which citizens will again advise the council on whether they want to see a liquor license of some variety. And in that same election, it’s possible that voters could choose to go back to local option with a city-run store.
In the council’s next meeting on Tuesday, , they could introduce a move to hold a binding vote in October on the possibility of opening a city-run liquor store through local option. Councilman Chuck Herman is sponsoring the action and cited local control.
“Especially now with this uncertainly over what we can do as a community, I think that is what at this moment forced my hand. I don’t believe we have the power any more. It doesn’t seem like the ABC board is going to uphold our ability to control our own community. I think the only way we can get that power back is by going towards this local option with the ability to have a city-run liquor store,” said Herman,
The measure must work it's way through the city council before going to voters. The city did away with local option in 2009. Citizens in a 2010 advisory vote rejected several types of liquor licenses and the city successfully protested several licenses. Citizens again rejected going back into local option in May of that year.
For now, October is shaping up to be a busy month and the timing of the city’s appeal is uncertain. The board hasn’t formally issued their finding to the city, which they need before proceeding. That vote is October 6th.
Calista Board
By Ellen Lockyer, APRN
Calista Corporation's board of directors has voted in the first chairwoman in the corporation's history. Margaret Pohjola was elected on July 23 for a one year term.
Outgoing Chair Willie Kasayulie had served the maximum of three consecutive annual terms. Pohjola’s background includes accounting work for Cook Inlet Tribal Council, NANA and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Pohjola graduated from UAA with a degree in management.
Chum Salmon Flood the Waters of Western Alaska, With Buyers Struggling to Keep Up.
By Emily Russell, KNOM
Western Alaska is in midst of one of the best salmon runs in decades, and that means both subsistence and commercial fishermen in waters around Norton Sound and Kotzebue are catching record numbers of chum.
"The chum salmon run, we’d forecasted a commercial harvest of 70-100,000 and we’re going to blow right through that,” said Jim Menard.
Jim Menard—the Arctic Area Manager for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game—says the latest numbers point to Norton Sound passing 120-thousand chums, the best harvest since 1986.
It’s the sixth season in a row of strong chum runs, but the fishery hasn’t always delivered. 2003 was an especially poor year, when the combined commercial harvest of all salmon species was the second lowest on record. Menard says relief came when the salmon bounced back the next year.
Despite the salmon surge that year, Fish and Game continued to limit subsistence fishing around Nome, with permits based on a household’s historical dependence on chum. Menard says many fishermen “ended up sitting on the beach”—but those restrictions were lifted in 2006 as escapement continued to rise.
"People want fish, people need fish, and it’s definitely something we take very seriously is subsistence comes first. It’s escapement and subsistence, and they need their fish and then we’ll go commercial fishing after that,” said Menard.
The surge of salmon in the waters of western Alaska is also feeding Kotzebue’s fishery. Last year’s commercial chum harvest *there was the second highest on record—and this year’s harvest could be just as strong. But no matter how strong the runs are, Menard says both Kotzebue and Norton Sound are limited by buyer capacity.
"The buyers, you know, they get plugged, and there’s only so much they can do. In Kotzebue we’ve stopped fishing the last few days because the buyer is swamped and, you know, Bristol Bay has come on strong, Prince William Sound, and, they fly those fish out of Kotzebue,” said Menard.
Following a brief closure last week, Kotzebue’s sole buyer- Copper River Seafoods- placed a limit on how much they’ll buy from each fishermen, urging fishermen to avoid catching more than they can sell.
It’s a similar story in Norton Sound, as its lone buyer- Norton Sound Seafood Products- can only process so much. Despite limitations, Menard is optimistic that the coming months will be good fishing—and not just for chums.
While the fishing has been strong so far, just *how* strong won’t be known until the silver run kicks into full swing.