MAGNITUDE: Today at 5:36 pm, duck and cover for four minutes and thirty-eight seconds in honor of the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 and the 139 souls that perished between here and Northern California as a result. If you lived through the 9.2 earthquake, you qualify as a sourdough, even if you’re in Palm Springs. If you’re in Valdez today, join the remembrance on the Kelsey Dock at 5:30 pm.
TSUNAMI DRILL: Not shaken by all the Great Alaska Earthquake coverage? You have another chance on Wednesday. The National Weather Service, Alaska broadcasters, and Alaska Division of Homeland Security will test the Alaska tsunami warning system at 10:15 am. NOAA wrote: “During this test the Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Radio will be activated for portions of the State. During the test you may hear sirens, or hear or see a message that a tsunami warning has been issued. This will only be a test. The test will be canceled in the event of a real tsunami.” We’re hoping for no cancellation of the test.
TIME MANAGEMENT: In Southcentral Alaska, the sun rose at 7:37 am and sets at tonight 8:33 pm. Tomorrow we’ll have 13 hours of daylight. In Prudhoe Bay, they’ll hit 14 hours of daylight on Friday.
SEWARD’S DAY: Abraham Lincoln’s most trusted adviser was William Seward, but he was controversial in his day, so could he have been the Stephen Bannon of the Lincoln presidency?
Seward was a driving force behind emancipation of slaves and the purchase of Alaska from Russia. He once sold a plot of land to abolitionist Harriet Tubman (illegally) and he attended her wedding, remaining friends with her until his dying day. He lost the nomination for president because of his anti-slavery rhetoric.
He also had political enemies galore, including one who stabbed him in the face. And you thought the 2016 political season was rough. Say what you will about whether Russia had the right to sell Alaska, but Seward was a rock star before rock stars were invented.
JUNEAU GOLD MEDAL HISTORY BOOKS: The adult-league basketball championship in Southeast Alaska had a historic finish in the C bracket with Klukwan beating the Juneau James Gang, with — count ’em — three OTs, 107-91, the lo-o-o-ngest game in the tournament’s 71-year history. Haines schooled Hoonah 79-73 in OT for the B bracket. In the Masters bracket, Hoonah slid by Kake 80-78. Women: Haines over Hoonah, 52-30. Thanks, Juneau Lion’s Club, for another great tournament.
CHARLO AT 420: Charlo Greene, the Alaska-based TV reporter who famously resigned from KTVA on air by saying “F&@k it, I quit” now hosts a show about marijuana in Los Angeles, and is covering such topics as “cannasexual,” (benefits of combining marijuana and sex), How to Survive a Police Invasion, Sushi and Doobie Rolling Lesson, and Cannabis and PTSD. Those are some of the highlights, LA Weekly says.