Favorite (news) Link Friday Week of December 2, 2015

Local corporation sues City of Utqiagvik to halt name-change

By Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media - December 1, 2016

A local native corporation is suing the city formerly known as Barrow, demanding it halt the official name-change to Utqiagvik. At least for now.

The official switch from Barrow to Utqiagvik went into effect on Dec. 1, but city officials said they would hold off on changing any signs, letterhead, or anything else until the lawsuit is settled.

The suit was filed Wednesday by lawyers representing Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation, or UIC. In materials submitted to the state court, UIC alleges the City Council voted to put the name-change on the October 4th municipal ballot “without providing the required notice to the Barrow public.” The filing also claims that after repeated requests, city officials have failed to provide any public notices or meeting minutes about the name-change ordinance from when it passed on August 25th, a possible violation of municipal rules.

UIC asserts that “Utqiagvik”, which is translated as “the place to gather wild roots,” is a corruption of the name that appears in primary sources. The suit cites 1978 testimony from an Inupiaq elder that the indigenous name was in fact Utkqiagvik, which means “the place where we hunt snowy owls.” Because of the speed with which the city council passed it’s ordinance, knowledgeable elders weren’t consulted, according to the court filings.

Suvlu has also introduced an ordinance to the city council that would put the issue back before voters, asking whether they’d like to repeal to name change. She said that could appear during a special election in March. [Full Source]

Public input meetings set for POW planning
by Leila Kheiry

The U.S. Forest Service is kicking off its Prince of Wales Landscape Level Analysis Project with public input meetings in Thorne Bay, Naukati and Craig.

According to the Forest Service, the Thorne Bay and Craig Ranger Districts want broad public input on how National Forest lands in that area will be managed for the next 10-15 years. Management activities could include timber harvest – young- and old-growth; road work; fish and wildlife habitat restoration; and recreation infrastructure.

The Thorne Bay public meeting is Dec. 12th, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Thorne Bay Ranger District conference room. The Naukati meeting is Dec. 13th, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.at the Naukati School library. The Craig meeting is Dec. 15th, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.at the Craig Tribal Association building. [Full Source]

[Ed: This is very important to attend and give your input as the decisions and actions will impact POW for a very long time.]

Global warming chill

BY CRAIGMEDRED

If you were shivering in Alaska today, blame the New York Times.

There is an old joke made in journalism that if you want the weather to change, just write about it. The Times wrote about balmy Alaska on Monday on the heals of one of those patronizing mainstream-media visits to an Alaska village threatened by global warming.

“In Shaktoolik, as in other villages around the state, residents say winter is arriving later than before and rushing prematurely into spring, a shift scientists tie to climate change,” wrote reporter Erica Goode.

Apparently, that’s all it took to swing the pendulum.

Within 24 hours, the Washington Post was reporting that “Alaska is witnessing its coldest air in almost two years, and some of the biting chill is forecast to plunge into the western United States in about a week’s time.

By then, the old Alaska was back and the Times story, which appears to have been reported in September but not published until the end of November, was looking more than a little dated with its photos of the barrier beach-village of Shaktoolik surrounded by blue water.

The water is long gone. The National Weather Service’s latest sea-ice update shows sea ice now well established off Shaktoolik and covering all of Norton Sound just to the north. The forecasters are calling for the ice to grow like crazy in the Bering Sea off Norton Bay in the days ahead, too.

The old Alaska is, at least for the moment, pushing back against climate change.

It was 7 degrees below zero in Shaktoolik late Wednesday, balmy compared to Fairbanks which was again headed toward 30 degrees below zero. Lake ice can form at the rate of almost four inches per day in such such cold, and standard winter diesel fuel will begin to gel. [Read the rest]

15 Clever human psychology tricks that everyone should know

BY YASH CHOUDHARY

2. Asking someone to do you a small favor trains their brain to believe they like you.

3. Foot-in-the-door phenomenon, People are more likely to agree to do a task for you if you ask them to do something simpler first (Gradual commitment makes people think you like them). Alternatively, you ask them to do an unreasonable task and they’ll say no. So then you should ask for a more reasonable task and they will be more likely to agree.

6. Chew gum when you’re approaching a situation that would make you nervous like public speaking or bungee jumping. If we are ‘eating’ something, our brain trips and it reasons “I would not be eating if I were danger. So I’m not in danger’’.

11. People will remember not what you said but how you made them feel. Also most people like talking about themselves so ask lots of questions about them.

12. Refer to people you’ve just met by their name, People love being referred to by their name, and it will establish a sense of trust and friendship right away. Say your friend introduced you to Mark. After 5 minutes he decides to leave. Don’t just say, “bye”, but instead say “Bye Mark!” [Read the Rest]