Massive, Very Shallow Earthquake Hits Just 66 miles from Craig, Alaska; Tsunami Warning Issued

/5 Comments/in , /by



At just two minutes before 12 a.m. this morning, Alaska time, a massive earthquake hit only 66 miles west of Craig, Alaska.

Initially, the United States Geological Service measured the quake at 7.7 magnitude, but this was later adjusted to 7.5 magnitude.

According to the United States Geological Service, the earthquake was at a very shallow depth of 6.1 miles. However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the earthquake’s depth at 3.11 miles.

Although the earthquake struck 212 miles south of Juneau, one resident – Alicé Leuchte – stated that it “scared the hell out of me.” Ms. Leuchte added that the people she knew in Craig “are OK.”

So far, there are no reports of serious damage.

The 7.5 magnitude earthquake is apparently related to the Queen Charlotte fault system that apparently spawned the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck near Metlakatla last October.

The Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska stated at 12:30 a.m. this morning that a “Tsunami warning remains in effect . . . for the coastal areas of British Columbia and Alaska from the north tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia to Cape Suckling, Alaska.” Cape Suckling is just 75 miles southeast of Cordova, or almost 250 miles southeast of Anchorage.

UPDATE: The tsunami warning has been lifted.

Rep. Issa Threatens Congressional Subpoena Over EPA Pebble Mine Review

/3 Comments/in , /by

photo credit: donkeyhotey

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has threatened subpoenaing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for documents regarding a potential Alaska mine.

Issa, along with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said he wants to know more about the intentions behind a water impact test EPA is conducting near a discussed mine site in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

The lawmakers said in a Thursday letter that EPA’s actions have “bordered on the absurd” by since the committee’s initial May 10 inquiry about the matter.

“It strains credibility that EPA has been unable to provide a full response to the Committee more than seven months after the initial request,” Issa and Jordan wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

“If EPA fails to provide the documents as requested, the Committee will consider use of the compulsory process.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Storm Impedes Salvage of Shell Drilling Ship Grounded in Alaska

/0 Comments/in , /by

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – High seas and strong winds prevented crews from boarding an oil drilling ship to check for any damage after the large vessel went aground off an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Alaska.

A Coast Guard plane and a helicopter flew over the Kulluk on Tuesday, but severe weather did not permit putting marine experts on board the drilling rig, which had grounded on a sand and gravel beach in stormy seas.

Federal on-scene response coordinator Capt. Paul Mehler said the Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig is carrying about 143,000 gallons of diesel and about 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid, and appeared stable.

“There is no sign of a release of any product,” Mehler said during a news conference.

A team of company, Coast Guard and local officials said they were mobilizing spill response equipment and preparing a plan in the event of a spill in the Partition Cove and Ocean Bay areas of the island. The area is home to at least two endangered species, as well as harbor seals, salmon, and sea lions.

Read more from this story HERE.

Anchorage Daily News Fears Miller Run in 2014? Columnist Starts the Lies All Over Again

/13 Comments/in , /by

This weekend, longtime Anchorage Daily News (ADN) columnist and mouth piece of Alaska’s corrupt political establishment, Paul Jenkins, wrote a piece on the potential contenders for Alaska’s 2014 Senate race.

Besides a gratuitous, but hardly unexpected hit on Sarah Palin, much of the column was the typical ADN gushing about candidates likely to perpetuate the big government handouts for Alaska’s ruling class.

One candidate is described as the chairman of a “prestigious” federal commission, another one is praised as “almost too good to be true,” still another is declared a successful city manager.

Jenkins, of course, reserves most of his establishment-vitriol for 2010 Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller.

It would have been bad enough had he resurrected any one of the numerous fabricated stories from 2010 to justify his suggestion that Joe is at the “bottom of the [2014] barrel.” But he didn’t do that. Instead, he made up an entirely new lie stating that a “few days back, [Joe] trashed the National Rifle Association as a threat to gun liberty and called its top executive a charlatan.”

Never mind the well-known fact that Joe has been a life member of the NRA for his entire adult life. Or that he and his wife have given thousands of dollars to the organization and are currently NRA Benefactors, the highest level of NRA membership. We’re quite sure it wouldn’t matter to Jenkins either that Joe also received an “A” rating from the NRA as a legislative candidate.

That doesn’t mean that Restoring Liberty agrees with everything the NRA does, such as its endorsement of many big-government incumbents, and its failure to get behind constitutional conservatives. But Joe has never described the organization as a “threat to gun liberty” or its top exec as a “charlatan.” On the contrary, Joe has been a strong supporter of the NRA.

What Jenkins is apparently referring to is an article that appeared HERE at Restoring Liberty, authored by Adam Bates. Bates had some harsh comments about the NRA’s response to the Newtown massacre that has generated a healthy debate at Restoring Liberty.

Obviously, the fact a story appears at Restoring Liberty does not mean that Joe Miller endorses its contents. Rather, the intent is to post stories that inform and encourage thought, especially stories we are unlikely to see in the mainstream press. And as our readers are undoubtedly aware, Restoring Liberty doesn’t shy away from articles critical of anyone who may be straying from constitutional principles.

So either Jenkins is ignorant, or he’s just plain lying.

Fortunately, Alaskans are on to the establishment goons in the Alaska press. And that’s why Alaska’s conventional media is being abandoned in favor of sites like Restoring Liberty, the second-most read Alaskan Internet news site.

Senator Rand Paul Takes On Alaska Delegation Over Earmarks in Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill (+video)

/15 Comments/in , /by

photo credit: gage skidmore

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul took on Alaska’s Senators yesterday over earmarks for Alaska fisheries placed in the appropriation bill designated for Hurricane Sandy relief, suggesting that if the spending was necessary it should be pushed through the Senate in a stand-alone bill.

The comments came on the Senate floor in the middle of a speech in which Senator Paul took on wasteful spending, of which the Alaskan earmarks were just one example of the problem.

Paul has suggested he would agree to further infrastructure spending if it were taken from appropriations that have already been designated as wasteful, or funds from the foreign aid budget designated for countries who have demonstrated hostility to America.

See video below:

Blind Fairbanks Dog Reunited With Owners After Weeks in Arctic Cold

/1 Comment/in /by

When their blind eight-year-old dog went missing from their remote Alaskan home in a heavy snowstorm, the Grapengeter family felt sure they’d never see her again. But after more than a week of searching in temperatures as low as minus 40C, Abby, a brown-and-white mixed-breed whom the Grapengeters rescued from an animal shelter as a puppy, turned up safe and sound at the home of a local vet.

Abby first disappeared from the family’s five-acre property near Fairbanks on 13 December. Given she’d gone blind a year ago, McKenzie Grapengeter and her three children held out little hope for her return. But on 23 December they received a call saying Abby had been found more than 10 miles away – and without even a trace of frostbite.

Neighbours had planned to set live traps to find her, but in the end the dog found her own way along a winter trail to the house of Mark May, a local dog musher and vet.

Read more from this story HERE.

Coast Guardsman Plunges 1000 Feet to His Death in Kodiak

/0 Comments/in , /by

A Coast Guardsman slipped on an icy trail and plunged 1,000 feet to his death while hiking a treacherous Alaskan mountain in search of its legendary vistas.

Derek Winn Russell, 20, disappeared Saturday morning after attempting to climb Mount Barometer, which is near the Coast Guard base on Kodiak Island where he was posted. Rescuers found his ice ax and skid marks 2,200 feet up the 2,450-foot mountain on Christmas Day. His body was discovered 1,000 feet below that point a few hours later.

Officials believe he slipped and fell to his death while descending the mountain, the Portland Press Herald reported.

Mr Russell, a native of Maine, was not reported missing for 36 hours because his roommates didn’t realize he hadn’t come back from his hike until Sunday night. A rescue party scoured the mountain that night, but was turned back by a snowstorm that hit the dangerous mountain.

Mount Barometer is a popular climb and in summer the trail to the summit can be attempted by casual hikers. It has become popular for its spectacular views of the remote Kodiak Island. In winter, ice and snow can make hiking treacherous and strong winds create bone-chilling temperatures.

Read more from this story HERE.

Legislative Proposal to Rebate Alaska Property Taxes for Private and Home Schoolers

/7 Comments/in /by

This legislative proposal will permit boroughs to rebate a portion of a parent’s property tax if he or she is either homeschooling their children or enrolled them in a private school.

But first we have to determine what’s fair.

Let’s say, for example, that 70% of your property taxes go toward funding your local public school district. But out of your own pocket, without any exogenous financial assistance, you’re also paying for your child’s enrollment in a private school.

You’ve paid for your child’s education, twice. Is that fair? Why or why not? If it isn’t fair, how much of that 70% should go toward your child’s education? All of it? Part of it? Why?

If you’re separately paying for your child’s non-public education, are you still obligated to pay into the public school system? Why?

What if you’re homeschooling your children and forsake employment in order to provide your children with a quality education? In some cases, that means that the homeschooling parent paid three times for the cost of an education, if you include the sacrifice of income.

During the latter half of this month, we’ll conduct a teleconference comment session in regards to our legislative proposal. If you would like to participate, please RSVP to [email protected] and we’ll reply with the date, time, and telephone number.

Our teleconference will focus on the issues that support the equitability of the proposal. In other words, we’ll try to ascertain what is considered to be a fair amount and who should qualify for a rebate.

We’ve formed an independent committee that is chaired by Mrs. Nicole Gates. Her committee will consolidate the input and feedback, evaluate the morals, ethics, values, and principles of each issue raised, and submit their recommendations that will be incorporated into the proposal. Please contact [email protected] if you’d like to serve on that committee.

Porkulus: Senator Begich Gets $150 Million Dollars for Hurricane Sandy Relief in Alaska?

/6 Comments/in , /by

photo credit: afge

The Senate’s emergency spending bill to cover costs from Hurricane Sandy includes millions of dollars that will never touch the affected Northeast — including money for salmon fisheries in Alaska, cash for an expansion of train service into New York, and funds to preserve and repair historic properties.

Lawmakers begin debating the bill Monday on the Senate floor, where the first thing they will confront is the size and scope of the $60.4 billion package, which aims to repair damage and to build protection against storms.

President Obama submitted his wish list to Congress, but senators added their own priorities. For example, Mr. Obama asked for $32 million to repair part of the Amtrak rail system not covered by insurance, but the Senate multiplied that request more than tenfold, to $336 million, with the extra money going to cover Amtrak’s operating losses and to increase train capacity into New York City.

The Sandy recovery bill also includes more than $500 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which amounts to a full tenth of what the agency spends per year, nationwide.

Part of that is $150 million for “fishery disasters,” which means money could flow to Mississippi’s blue crab and oyster industries, and to Alaska, where one senator said Chinook salmon have suffered.

Read more from this story HERE.