Alaska: A GREAT Place To Live !

[Nictoshek]

Alaskans get $1,174 checks from state's oil wealth


APBy BECKY BOHRER - Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Most Alaska residents will soon be getting a check for $1,174 simply because they live there.

Each person's share of the state's vast oil wealth was announced with much fanfare in Anchorage Tuesday, with Gov. Sean Parnell ripping open a gold-colored envelope to reveal the number. This day is so widely anticipated in Alaska that the announcement of the Permanent Fund Dividend amount was carried live on television statewide, and dozens tuned in to watch a live webcast by the governor's office.

This year's check is the smallest since 2006 and $107 less than last year's amount, which was $1,281. Parnell warned the amount could diminish more in the future, given market volatilities and the fact that oil production in the state is declining. Nonetheless, he called this year's amount "healthy."

State Revenue Commissioner Bryan Butcher said 647,549 Alaskans were deemed eligible to receive dividends, and about $760.2 million is expected to be paid out. Most Alaskans will get their dividends by direct deposit Oct. 6; the rest will receive checks in the mail.

The 2010 U.S. Census put Alaska's population at 710,231.

Already, Alaskans are making plans for how they'll use their dividends, from paying bills to putting the money toward a new car to buying sled dogs. Retailers are advertising "PFD" sales. So is Alaska Airlines, whose offer is popular in a state where few communities are connected to a road system and the cost of going to the nearest city to shop — or just get away — adds up fast.

While the extra money is a great perk, it doesn't always go far in a state where some rural residents pay $7 or more a gallon for gasoline and one study showed food costs for a week could run into the hundreds of dollars for a family of four.

Vern Weiss owns Moochers Bar and Grill in Nenana, a community of about 380 people 55 miles southwest of Fairbanks. He said he spends about the amount of last year's check in a week on food and beverages for his business. Still, every bit helps. The economy in that area is tough, and he said he has barely been able to make sure his employees are paid. A dividend check, he said, can help pay a lot of little bills.

Voters passed a constitutional amendment in 1976 to establish the Permanent Fund as a way to stretch out the state's oil wealth for future generations. At the time, Alaska had just experienced a construction boom spurred by a $900 million bonus payment from energy companies for oil discoveries.

Today, state government relies heavily on oil revenues to run, and most Alaska residents receive a dividend check; people have to live in the state for a year to be eligible to apply. The amount of investment earnings allocated to dividends is based on a five-year rolling average of the permanent fund's performance.

The market hit from the U.S. recession and ensuing economic slump are factored into the most recent period.

Still, Tuesday was "a happy day for Alaskans," Butcher said.

State labor department economist Neal Fried said there's no question the dividend has an impact on Alaska's economy but he's seen no research to quantify just how big the bump is. The way people treat their dividends likely varies with their individual circumstances and even how long they've been getting the extra money, he said.

Butcher, who used to work at the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., said October tended to be the month when many people caught up with mortgage payments.

Parnell said one of his great duties as governor is being able to announce the annual dividend, calling it a "unique duty that 49 other governors likely wish they had." He said he and his wife, Sandy, would likely put their dividends toward the cost of college for their two daughters.

Last year, $783.4 million was paid to 611,522 people, according to the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division. The fund ended the recent fiscal year with a balance of $40.1 billion.

Alaskans received their largest dividend — $2,069 — in 2008, according to the dividend division. In 2006, the dividend was $1,106.96.

Bosco Olson Sr., city administrator of Hooper Bay, said dividend announcement day is like Christmas, with the town's 1,100 residents patiently waiting and excited.

Olson, whose town is about 500 miles west of Anchorage, said he's considering using his dividend for a new lead dog or two for his sled dog team.

[justjohn]

Kai, It appears to us you are $1000.00 richer. Congratulations.

[kaima]

Thanks. I believe it is due in the bank any day now. This is true trickle up economics, and the people and businesses love it. Everyone gets it, and many, many go out and spend it, so there are many "PFD Sales" (Permanant Fund Dividend = PFD). Most of the money ends up in the hands of businesses, and the people are happy.

Our current governor is trying to reduce taxes on the oil companies, trying to reverse the increased taxes on excess profits that Palin pushed through in her half-term as governor. This governor was LT Governor at the time, and supported the tax. Now of course the argument is that if we give 2 billion dollars a year back to the oil companies they will be nice guys and invent more jobs in Alaska (many jobs of which are occupied by out-of -state commuters, flying to and from Alaska every two weeks.) So the benefit of reduced taxes to Alaska is quite dubious in my book. For 2 Billion a year, how many jobs will the oil industry maybe create - maybe. 100 would be a lot. 2 Bn / 100 jobs = 20 million dollars in state revenues given up for each job created. This is to extract a resource, that once it is gone, is gone forever.

Running the State like a business, it seems the governor should maximize profits, not pass them on to the oil companies! You would suspect he works for the oil companies instead of the State of Alaska.

Kai

[Nictoshek]

Alaska faces one of its worst storms ever, forecasters say

Post by: CNN's Brad Lendon
November 8th, 2011

Alaska is facing a life threatening winter storm with near hurricane force winds, more than a foot of snow and severe coastal flooding, the National Weather Service says.

"This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm which will be one of the worst on record over the Bering Sea and the west coast," NWS forecasters said in a bulletin Monday afternoon.

The storm was about 600 miles southwest of Shemya in the far western Aleutian Islands on Monday afternoon and was expected to move over the Bering Sea toward Alaska's west coast on Tuesday.

Winds near hurricane force of 74 mph were expected to generate seas as high as 25 feet in the northern Bering Sea, forecasters said. The winds were expected to raise sea levels as much as 9 feet in the Norton Sound. Those levels combined with the high waves were expected to cause significant coastal erosion and major flooding. The winds may also push sea ice on shore, adding to the dangers, NWS forecasters said.

Alaska's west coast could also see as much as 14 inches of snow in blizzard conditions, forecasters said. The storm was expected to last into Wednesday.

[kaima]

I guess I was in the middle of the last comparable storm in 1974. At that time I was stuck in a village for three days waiting for flights to resume after the storm, then had some time in Nome before I could fly out of there. There were big boats - 40 footers? parked hundreds of feet back from the beach, and buildings with just two walls and the roof standing, water having washed out the gable ends.

"The last time a storm of a similar magnitude was sent in the same northward direction was 1974, but the sea surface was much more frozen then, Brown said.

"History tells that the sea ice helps subdue the storm surge," Brown said. "With no sea ice there, we could see the full brunt of that 6- to 9-foot storm surge."

Arctic sea ice this year reached the second-lowest coverage since satellite records began in 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

"Forty years ago, a big storm like this would come through and the sea ice would act as sort of a buffer," said Mark Serreze, director of the Snow and Ice Data Center.

"The Bering Sea has and always will have these strong storms. What is different now is their potential destructiveness as you lose the sea ice cover," he added.

Federal, state and local agencies were making emergency preparations in advance of the storm. The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management set up an incident command, with numerous agencies coordinating responses.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has staged helicopters in the region and sent a cutter to prepare for emergency responses, with a special focus on the crab-fishing fleet.

Numerous government agencies have set up an incident command, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Nome, with 3,600 residents, is one of the largest cities in western Alaska. The communities spread along the coastline are mostly traditional Native settlements, with a few hundred to a few thousand inhabitants, and no roads linking communities."

Guess I will miss the fun, I am in the southern 48 for another week....

[Nictoshek]

The only way I get to enjoy Alaska these days, is by watching the 'Gold Rush' series:

[Nictoshek]

Powerful Storm Pummels Western Alaska

By WILLIAM YARDLEY
November 9, 2011

A powerful storm with hurricane-force winds slammed into western Alaska on Wednesday, causing power failures in some tiny coastal villages and warnings that the area could suffer major flooding.

In a Tuesday forecast, the National Weather Service described the storm as “extremely dangerous and life-threatening” and of “an epic magnitude rarely experienced.” The service said, “All people in the area should take precautions to safeguard their lives and property.”

No injuries had been reported by Wednesday afternoon, and some of the worst winds had subsided. But forecasters warned that the storm was still strong and the could cause flooding later as waters surge.

By late morning, power had been lost, restored and lost again in Point Hope, a village of fewer than 900 people on a thin spit in the Chukchi Sea. The village school, which has an emergency generator, served as a shelter and provided food on Wednesday. Classes had been canceled since Tuesday. Residents worried that houses and their plumbing would begin to freeze as temperatures dipped close to zero with the wind chill.

“You can’t really walk around outside because there’s a bunch of live wires,” said Sally Navarre, a first grade teacher at the school. “And the wind’s blowing so hard.”

Steve Oomittuk, the mayor, said gusts had reached 70 miles per hour overnight, with sustained winds reaching 60 miles per hour.

Voluntary evacuations had been urged for some villages, but Mr. Oomittuk said he did not believe any Point Hope residents had left. He noted that Point Hope, like many villages that are not on a road system, relies on airplanes to bring supplies and to transport people in and out of town. No planes arrived on Tuesday because of increasing winds and none were expected on Wednesday. He said some residents had been assigned to monitor the coastline for signs of rising water.

Storm warnings were in effect for virtually all of the western Alaska coast, from the Arctic Ocean in the north, to the Bering Sea in the south. Wind gusts were forecast to reach 100 miles per hour near Nome and seas were to rise as high as nine feet. Major damage had been forecast for Nome and for Kivalina, a village that has suffered severe erosion for years because declining sea ice has made it more vulnerable to storms — conditions scientists attribute to climate change.

Several news agencies reported damaged roofs and buildings in Nome by Wednesday afternoon. A teacher at the McQueen School in Kivalina, Emma Knowles, said about 150 people had slept at the school on Tuesday night but that so far power had largely stayed on in village houses. She said there did not appear to be obvious flooding, but that the storm was still going strong. The school was providing food to residents.

“We’re doing pretty good,” Ms. Knowles said. “They’ve got a caribou going in the kitchen. I think they’re making caribou soup.”

“We’re just kind of hunkered down and watching the wind,” Ms. Knowles said. “And the kids are going crazy.”

[kaima]

Apprehension turns into relief as epic storm moves on

WESTERN ALASKA: Some villagers say conditions didn't quite live up to the hype.

By KYLE HOPKINS and MIKE DUNHAM
Anchorage Daily News

Published: November 10th, 2011 11:48 PM
Last Modified: November 11th, 2011 02:13 AM

The superstorm that tore across Western Alaska this week vanished to the north Thursday, leaving behind 37 communities reporting some combination of flooding, wind damage, power outages and evacuations.

It also left behind a sense of relief. Billed as one of the biggest, baddest weather events to hit the Bering Sea in 40 years, the storm had resulted in no reports of major damage and no injuries as of Thursday afternoon, according to the state.

At least one storm-related death remained a possibility, however, as volunteers on four-wheelers scoured a jetty in Northwest Alaska looking for a 26-year-old Teller man who troopers say may have disappeared Wednesday among the crashing waves and high winds. (See story, Page A-10).



The storm battered treeless tundra villages throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, cutting power in some communities and silencing cellphones in others. Families in several villages fled to school classrooms and gyms for refuge.

Thirty or 40 people evacuated low- lying areas in Golovin, said a spokesman for the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Winds tore at roofs in Point Hope, where villagers assembled at Tikigaq School and greeted the blizzard warning Wednesday night with traditional drumming and dancing.

"We started (dancing) at 7 p.m. and they canceled the warning about 9:30," said Adela Lane, village liaison for the North Slope Borough. "When we finished and people went out again it had calmed down."

Nonetheless, 393 people -- more than half of the community -- spent the night at the school, said Lane. Lacking heat and power at home, people continued arriving throughout the night.

Lane thought damage might have been worse if a natural barrier of ice hadn't formed along the shore. The frozen breakwater was between 6 and 8 feet high, she said.

On Thursday, flood and erosion warnings along the coast faded away as villagers in Norton Sound, St. Lawrence Island and north to the Chukchi Sea coast began taking stock of the damage.

By 5 p.m. Thursday, Point Hope remained the only village where people were still seeking emergency shelter, said Jeremy Zidek, spokesman for the Emergency Management division.

"They plan to keep the shelter open until power is restored," he said.

'WE'RE FINE'

Bonita Barr with the Native Village of Deering, on the north side of the Seward Peninsula, said she saw readings of winds at 69 mph early Thursday morning, but the town of 122 people came through in good shape. Preparations were made to evacuate people to the school, but that turned out not to be necessary.

"We're fine," she said. "But we did have high waters."

The road to the airport was under water for three to four hours overnight, she said.

In the barrier island village of Kivalina, a rock revetment built in 2008 and 2009 defended against the waves as many residents took shelter at the school.

"It was one huge slumber party," said Colleen Swan, an emergency responder for the village.

Swan said there were reports of huge winds through the night but no initial signs of major damage.

Water appeared to go over the lowest lying areas, with the town dumpsite between the sea and the lagoon flooded, she said.

Swan said school personnel who made arrangements for emergency shelter did a remarkably good job. "I applaud their efforts and organization," she said.

Gov. Sean Parnell on Thursday praised village and city leaders across the coast with rallying to thwart additional storm damage or injuries.

"Local community leaders have done an excellent job preparing for the storm, and making sure the lives of their neighbors and loved ones were protected in the best way possible," Parnell said, according to a statement issued by the governor's office.

State officials continued to man an operations command center in Anchorage on Thursday, but were scaling back efforts even as they planned to send teams to survey damage in coastal communities as early as next week.

NOME RECOVERS QUICKLY

As the weather service issued a series of strongly worded warnings of the approaching tempest earlier this week, heavy news coverage and countless Facebook updates and tweets amplified its violent reputation. Stoked by predictions of hurricane-force winds and near-record storm surges, Alaskans planned for the worst.

For Sean Knudsen of Nome, the storm proved less impressive than expected.

"I think a lot of the news frenzy was kind of making it up to be this terrible disaster is coming, and it wasn't anything that we haven't been through before," said Knudsen, assistant manager for the Aurora Inn.

Seawater and debris splashed across the city sea wall Wednesday night, with reports of damage to two homes and two commercial buildings, according to the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

But Knudsen said he drove easily Thursday along Front Street, the iconic roadway that serves as the finish of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and saw few problems beyond some asphalt ripped away by the water.

"Nome recovers pretty quick after a storm," he said.

With wind speeds approaching 90 mph in the Bering Strait and unofficial reports of gusts of 93 mph in Little Diomede, the storm's wind speeds lived up to expectations, said John Lingaas, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.

This year's storm, which the National Weather Service likened to the power of a category 3 hurricane, was often compared to an infamous 1974 Bering Sea storm.

Asked if the comparison held true, Weather Service meteorologist Julie Malingowski looked to Nome, the largest city in the path of the 2011 storm, for comparisions.

In '74, water levels peaked at about 12 feet above normal in Nome, Malingowski said. Wednesday night, water levels in the 2011 storm peaked at about 10 feet above normal levels.

"It was a little bit stronger (back) then, as far as the effects in Nome go, but I think the overall effect of the storm was similar," she said.

Another way to measure the strength of a storm is by barometric pressure.

In general, the lower the pressure, the greater the storm. Both the 1974 storm and this week's storm had similar barometric pressure measurements -- about 970 millibars, as of Nov. 12, 1974 and 6 a.m. Wednesday, respectively, Malingowski said.

Either way, the superstorm was history, she said. By Thursday afternoon, its center wandered roughly 500 miles northwest of Cape Lisburne and was still on the move.

"It's out of here," Malingowski said.

[kaima]

Someone compared it to the Nov 1974 storm, one that I spent in the village of Wales, out by Nome. One gracious family gave me a place to sleep with their full house, and people made sure I did not go hungry. I likely had my own basic food supply as well, since I had spent the summer there working on the new airport. I did get out with a group of men to tie the roof down on the generator building to keep it from blowing away. One of the men wore his traditional fish skin or seal gut raincoat in the storm, demonstrating that the old life style was still alive and well. Water was up to the high banks above the beach and I have a photo of the water almost reaching the school. The suspension foot bridge across Wales Creek dipped into the high water and had to be crossed between waves.

After three days I was able to fly into Nome, where I walked about and saw the big boats parked (by the water) hundreds of feet from the shore and one building with the gable ends washed out, with the roof and side walls still standing. Water and electricity were restored within 2 to 4 days, but all of the winter supply of alcohol in the basements on Front Street was touched by flood waters and had to be destroyed.

By the way, Nome airfield was built on ground never minded for gold, so it may be one of the most valuable airfields in the US....

[Jaga]

Kai,

glad that the storm was not that bad as predicted. We do not usually hear too much about Alaska...I do not want to hear in the contest of natural disaster.

[kaima]

Record-breaking November cold gives even Fairbanks a jolt

Associated Press

Published: November 18th, 2011 02:28 PM
Last Modified: November 18th, 2011 02:28 PM

A severe cold snap that is driving temperatures to record lows in Fairbanks caught some residents off-guard.

climate.gi.alaska.edu/Climate/Fairbanks/fai_temp.jpg
[/img]



The image just doesn't want to post. I must be having a bad electron day. Check out
climate.gi.alaska.edu/Climate/Fairbanks/fai_temp.jpg

For the second time in three days, Fairbanks set a new low-temperature record Thursday. A temperature of 41 degrees below zero -- the first 40-below temperature of the season -- was recorded at Fairbanks International Airport at 6:29 a.m., the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

The National Weather Service in Fairbanks said that broke the old record of 39 below set in 1969.

The last time Fairbanks residents saw 40-below temperatures in November was in 1994.

"This sort of thing is certainly more common in December and January than November," said meteorologist Dan Hancock, at the Weather Service in Fairbanks. "We can go through an entire winter and not get this cold."

Shawn Ross, 43, who has lived in Fairbanks his entire life, said he thinks few people were ready for this severe of a cold snap in mid-November. But, he said, it comes with its advantages. Ross owns a towing company.

"It's probably multiplied five times since it got cold," he said, referring to his towing business. "There were a lot of cars not prepared for this."

Ross noted that tires lose air when it gets cold and are more susceptible to going flat.

"People are not checking their tire pressure," Ross said. "I've picked up five today alone sitting on the side of the road with flat or shredded tires."

Ross said when the cold snap hit he didn't have all his trucks on the road. He scrambled to provide services Thursday to motorists stranded with flat tires and frozen engines.

"I had one driver who had to run down to the store to buy some winter boots because he was still wearing fall boots. He said he'd just wear another pair of socks, but that doesn't do it.

"Twenty or 25 below is tolerable, but past 30 below, it's a whole different ball of wax," Ross said.

The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks canceled races for Friday night and Sunday at Birch Hill Recreation Area. The races were expected to attract top racers from around the state.

[Nictoshek]

Ice halts delivery of winter fuel to Nome, Alaska

Kim Murphy
December 2, 2011

Lots of Americans are worried about gas prices this holiday season, but the town of Nome, Alaska, is facing a unique problem: With the community's small port locked in ice, the barge hauling the big winter-fuel delivery can't make it into town.

City officials were still scrambling, working with the U.S. Coast Guard on Friday to figure out a work-around. Unless an ice breaker can be deployed to chop through the foot-thick ice, Nome's 3,600 residents might have to fly in fuel -- and pay up to $9 a gallon at the pump for the privilege.

"Right now we're working with the Coast Guard and the local fuel vendor here to look at our options with the ice coverage and thickness, and seeing about the Coast Guard kind of creating a path for a fuel barge to make it to Nome in the next few weeks," City Manager Josie Bahnke said in an interview. "We're trying to kind of be as creative as possible."

Alaska's remote bush communities typically haul in fuel for gasoline and home heating furnaces by barge, because few towns are connected to roads. But the onset of winter sea ice makes barge deliveries all but impossible.

Nome's shipment was headed for port in early November ahead of the deep freeze but got waylaid by the powerful autumn storm that swept in from the Bering Sea, bringing high seas and hurricane-force winds.

Now, the barge loaded with 1.6 million gallons of fuel is anchored at Kachemak Bay, about a two weeks' sail from Nome. And the Coast Guard's only functioning ice breaker, the Healy, is deployed (near Nome, as a matter of fact) on a scientific mission.

The problem is only one of a growing number facing the Coast Guard as warmer global temperatures bring increased shipping traffic to the Alaskan Arctic.

The Coast Guard, meanwhile, has not had funds to deploy new icebreakers. Two of the Coast Guard's three aging icebreakers are undergoing repairs in Seattle. One is likely to be mothballed completely in order to free up funds to fully renovate the other.

"This pending fuel shortage in rural Alaska highlights the lack of Coast Guard ice breaking capability in the state," U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) said in a letter about Nome's situation to the Coast Guard on Thursday. Begich has introduced legislation that would require the Coast Guard to operate at least two heavy-duty icebreakers.

"The Coast Guard is aware of the fuel situation in Nome and the importance of getting them their fuel so they can make it through the winter. Right now, we're working closely with the city to identify options to get the fuel in there," Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow of the Coast Guard's Juneau headquarters told The Times.

But steaming the Healy to Nome's rescue would only begin to solve the problem, Wadlow said: Nome's harbor is so shallow that the Healy could only open up a path to within about a mile offshore. "The barge would still be a mile out," he said.

Coast Guard officials now are talking with the city about how to get the fuel the rest of the way in, possibly by using a commercial vessel with a shallower draft.

Bahnke said the town is not facing a life-threatening emergency. The city still has fuel for the moment, and even if the winter supplies can't be delivered by sea, the city could fly them in, albeit at such an expense that gasoline prices would likely soar from their current $5.40 a gallon to perhaps $9.

The city is seeking reassurances that the state -- as it has in many past winter fuel emergencies, which aren't all that rare in Alaska -- would step in, in that case, with financial help.

"Everybody's just trying to have hope," Bahnke said. "Until we hear otherwise."

[kaima]

Russian airline plans Anchorage-Kamchatka flights in 2012

Published: December 1st, 2011 11:48 AM
Last Modified: December 2nd, 2011 10:27 AM

Vladivostok Air is planning weekly flights for two months next summer between Anchorage and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of about 175,000 on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. It will be the first commercial air link between the Russian Far East and Alaska since Alaska Airlines dropped its Anchorage-Russia routes in the late 1990s.



From The New York Times:

Siberia has long been a popular destination for American hunters and fisherman, but not for mainstream tourists. That could be changing. Cities like Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka's jumping-off point for outdoor adventurers, and Vladivostok, a coastal city with upscale accommodations and cultural attractions like museums and theaters, have made big efforts to encourage tourism. The Kamchatka Ecotourism Society delivers English-language trip assistance for hikers, skiers and sightseers, and the hilly city of Vladivostok has undergone years of rebuilding, replacing Soviet-era high-rises with luxury hotels and entertainment sites.

The Anchorage-Petropavlovsk flights, running from mid-July to mid-September, will take approximately four hours.

[justjohn]

Dec 4, 2011 10:57:02 GMT -7 kaima said:

Russian airline plans Anchorage-Kamchatka flights in 2012

Published: December 1st, 2011 11:48 AM
Last Modified: December 2nd, 2011 10:27 AM

Vladivostok Air is planning weekly flights for two months next summer between Anchorage and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of about 175,000 on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. It will be the first commercial air link between the Russian Far East and Alaska since Alaska Airlines dropped its Anchorage-Russia routes in the late 1990s.



From The New York Times:

Siberia has long been a popular destination for American hunters and fisherman, but not for mainstream tourists. That could be changing. Cities like Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka's jumping-off point for outdoor adventurers, and Vladivostok, a coastal city with upscale accommodations and cultural attractions like museums and theaters, have made big efforts to encourage tourism. The Kamchatka Ecotourism Society delivers English-language trip assistance for hikers, skiers and sightseers, and the hilly city of Vladivostok has undergone years of rebuilding, replacing Soviet-era high-rises with luxury hotels and entertainment sites.

The Anchorage-Petropavlovsk flights, running from mid-July to mid-September, will take approximately four hours.

Kai,

Isn't Kamchatka the Eastern terminal for the Orient Express?

[kaima]

Checking my first guesses now... Oriental express went as far as Istanbul? The Trans-Siberian railroad goes to Vladivistok, 250 miles south of the Kamcjhatka Peninsula, or is it located just at the bottom of the peninsula and islands stringing south toward Japan?

OK< it is Vladivostok...

The Trans-Siberian Railway was built to connect European Russia with Vladivostok, Russia's most important Pacific Ocean port. Finished in 1905.

Oriental Express, there seem to be several routes at different times:


mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r045.html

and