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Sorry y’all. The Muskegger is over. If you want to know where it moved to or about my future blogging plans, please feel free to e-mail me at brittanyr@gmail.com

Thanks for all your support.

-Brittany

I’m in Hoonah right now, but can’t help but weigh in on this issue back in Juneau.

This letter to the editor from Mike Everson was published in today’s paper in response to a recent Toe Toon. 

Apparently Everson is upset that a newspaper would go so far as to publish an editorial cartoon - or anything at all - that would be considered a jab at one of its advertisers:

It would seem appropriate for the Empire to apologize publicly for the cartoon depicting the business as leeching off a national chain store. Don Abel’s is a longtime Juneau business that has undoubtedly been a longtime advertiser in the Empire.

Give me a break. While I understand that it might seem hurtful to the businesses that its local newspaper might publish something that could paint it in a negative light, a newspaper’s job is not to please its advertisers. (Some people might be laughing at me with this statement. I can’t help it, I’m an idealist on some level.) But before you get yourself too worked up, remember there is a reason that the editorial staff should not be beholden to their ad departments.

To trade advertising for positive-only coverage would be complicated - not to mention downright dangerous. Would reporters not be able to write about controversial issues like the Kensington Mine? Would editorials not get published for fear of offending Coeur - or SEACC? After all, both are advertisers.

As a business reporter, I turned a deaf ear to any comments about how much a business advertised and not-so-subtle threats like this one:

With the availability of news on the Internet, the Empire shouldn’t be so flip as to insult a longtime business that contributes to its advertising revenue.

No, the Empire was right to not censor Toe’s cartoon.

I spent yesterday fishing with Brian Wallace. Always a fun time, but this time we actually caught fish. Two pinks and two cohos. We also caught two kings, but they were too small to keep.

After three previous excursions where we came up empty-handed, I had been feeling somewhat starved for freshly-caught wild salmon. I was also feeling like a curse - was it me? After all, Brian seemed to be successful every other time he went out fishing (and then he’d graciously invite me to dine on the rewards after so I guess I wasn’t that starved for fresh seafood).

I learned a few lessons I plan to use as a journalist. First - reel. Second - keep reeling. Also - don’t ever forget your fishing license or you might incur the wrath of the skipper. I tested this at the start of the day by pretending that I’d left my license at home.

“So, Brian. What would happen if I forgot my fishing license?” I asked, sitting in the passenger seat as we pulled out of his driveway. The license I’d purchased a month ago at Western Auto was neatly tucked in my knee pocket.

The look he shot me at that moment was terrifying - and totally bewildered, like he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. I imagine it as the same look that Donn Liston would have on his face if an avalanche above Behrends Avenue ever releases.

Brian then muttered something about the skipper getting cited (which I am not sure is true and if anyone knows the reg on this, please share and educate us all). Here is a link to ADF&G’s regulations site.

I could see he was then calculating how much time we would lose by stopping by my house to pick up the license. Being late for fishing with Brian is not really an option, so this potential delay was causing a little more worry.

I clearly had taken it too far. This was no joke.

I had my license, I told him. I laughed. He just looked forward, put the truck in drive and we drove off.

For the next eight hours, we listened to oldies, caught a few fish and saw a pod of about seven humpback whales. It was perfect.

Well, it’s official Muskegger readers. I am no longer the Juneau Empire’s natural resources reporter as of about 7 p.m. July 10. By midnight I was in line at the airport ready to check in for my flight to NYC - the city of my alma mater - and where I have been the past week.

I arrived in the City after apparent thunderstorms “all across the eastern seaboard” first canceled a layover flight from Chicago, then delayed the second one five hours. The highlight of that 24-hour trip was seeing a woman threaten a flight attendant and get escorted off the plane. The crowd booed.

She clearly wasn’t so bright.

I witnessed a college friend get married and was consistently baffled by how “green” New York has gotten. One close friend even commented that she refused to take taxis because of the damage to the environment. Have New Yorkers gone Berkeley or is this just the new America?

I also went up to Buffalo and saw Niagara Falls. Besides being a bizarre tourist destination and natural wonder, it also powers NYC.

In the next few days, you will notice a few changes to the look of the Muskegger. I will still be blogging here, but the theme will be a bit looser and might or might not pertain to natural resources issues depending on my mood. I’ll probably write about traveling and hopefully will be able to visit some of the places that have been recommended.

I might even go to Wards Cove (if I can find a ride up there) just to irk Mr. Liston.

Customers at Home Depot earlier this week might have noticed they were being charged too much for sales tax.

Instead of the city’s 5 percent tax, Home Depot was charging customers 6 percent.

A Home Depot spokeswoman confirmed this.

“There was a slight error where a few customers were charged that, however we have since corrected the issue,” said the spokeswoman, Kathryn Gallagher.

When asked how the error occured, she said it was “just a glitch in the system.”
“It has been corrected and all is normal now.”

Home Depot is located on Commercial Drive in Lemon Creek. The big box retailer opened its doors to the public June 28.

The store’s hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

Update: This meeting has been CANCELLED.

The meeting will be held in the 2nd floor conference room of the Municipal Building at 155 South Seward St.

Topic of Discussion:

CBJ Consolidated Public Works Facility with parking variance.

Applicant: CBJ Engineering Deptartment

Location: 7100 Glacier Highway

For more information, contact Benjamin Lyman at 586-0758.

Redcorp confirmed today that it will begin conventional barging on the Taku River later this week “” likely starting today and through the 27th, depending on weather and river conditions.

Updated at 2:29 p.m. - Salina Landstad, a spokeswoman for Redcorp, said that the barges are headed this way from Prince Rupert. The earliest they would arrive would be tomorrow, with the first barge run up the river scheduled to coincide with high tide at 1 a.m. June 30. The operation is expected to last roughly 10 days.

She said that plans are subject to change with varying conditions.

The press release below was also issued, but details are still somewhat vague.

REDCORP VENTURES LTD. (RDV-TSX) and Redfern Resources Ltd. (”Redfern”), its wholly-owned subsidiary, (together the “Company”), are pleased to announce that construction equipment, machinery and supplies are scheduled to be delivered to the mine site later this week by conventional river and ocean barges.

 

Construction activities at the mine site include the assembly of a temporary camp for construction crews, installation of a sewage system, marking of boundaries and the construction of a temporary access road on the Company’s privately held land and mineral claims.

 

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Some more info about mercury for those interested from the EPA.

Also, in today’s story about rising mercury levels in Southeast Alaska, I didn’t get a chance to mention some of the legislation and programs underway to control mercury levels.

Here is some - Mercury Reduction Program

And the EPA has a good overview of how mercury is regulated in the U.S. here.

The following are the official, validated results from the Sealaska shareholder meeting held today in Anchorage:

Top vote-getters for Board of Directors:

Clarence Jackson
Patrick Anderson
Jodi Mitchell
Jackie Johnson

Resolutions:

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