Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 100
A large group of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the United States Capitol Building on Jan. 6 while Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election leaving a wake of destruction behind them. Petersburg residents seem united in their feelings of disappointment and embarrassment at those that entered the Capitol Building and condemnation of their actions. Where they differ is whether or not those that remained outside are just as guilty as those that entered the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will appeal the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' rejection of a key permit for a proposed copper and gold mine in a region that supports the world's largest sockeye salmon runs. Dunleavy, in a statement Friday, called the corps' decision flawed and said the state has to keep a federal agency "from using the regulatory process to effectively prevent the State from fulfilling a constitutional mandate to develop its natural resources."...
As Alaska faces its toughest budget squeeze ever, the state’s commercial fisheries are set to get a bit of a breather. But it is due more to fund swapping than lawmakers’ largess. For the commercial fisheries division, the largest within the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the preliminary FY2022 budget released by Governor Dunleavy reflects a slight increase to $72.8 million, compared to nearly $68 million last year. “I think we did really well this year,” said Sam Rabung, commercial fisheries division director, speaking last week at a Unit...
Donald Trump Jr. was in Petersburg this month with his son and several friends, according to a video posted to his Facebook page on Dec. 20. In the three and a half minute clip, Trump is seen leaving Petersburg Harbor onboard a fishing vessel loaded with several ATVs. He takes note of the low temperatures, little daylight and "pretty serious" rain and wind in Southeast Alaska. "In December, it is even more rugged than it is normally," said Trump in the video. "It's always a pretty rugged place....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The results of Alaska’s general election were certified Monday, the Division of Elections announced. Certification followed a review of ballots, voter registers and other materials by a bipartisan board. Certification initially was targeted for Nov. 25. Nationally, state-by-state certification of results has generated interest as President Donald Trump and some supporters have sought to sow doubt about the outcome of his race, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Alaska was among the states Trump won. In a tight Anchorage House rac...
As the state continues to count absentee and early ballots for the Nov. 3 election, Alaska House District 35 has seen its voter turnout rate jump from 26.25 percent to 64.74 percent as of Nov. 18, according to statistics from the Alaska Division of Elections. Only the ballots that were cast in person on Election Day were tabulated into the initial unofficial results, resulting in a 26.25 percent voter turnout for District 35 and a 23.88 percent voter turnout for the Petersburg Borough,...
The Petersburg Borough, including the city of Kupreanof, saw a 23.88 percent voter turnout on Election Day earlier this month, with 707 of the 2,961 registered voters casting a vote in person on Nov. 3, according to unofficial results from the Alaska Division of Elections. According to Sally Dwyer, a local resident who handled early voting for the state, over 650 residents cast in person absentee ballots prior to Election Day. In a press release from the Alaska Division of Elections on Nov. 9,...
Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan has won reelection in Alaska, defeating independent Al Gross in a race that attracted outside attention with control of the Senate at stake. The race had been determined too early to call on Election Day Nov. 3 due to a large number of outstanding absentee ballots. Election officials began counting more than 150,000 absentee and other ballots on Tuesday. The result in Alaska means that control of the Senate won’t be decided until January Senate runoffs are held in Georgia. The Gross campaign on Wednesday did n...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The debate between the candidates for Alaska’s sole seat in Congress became contentious Thursday, with challenger Alyse Galvin saying she’s tired of U.S. Rep. Don Young misrepresenting her position on issues. “I’m so tired of the lies that have been said throughout this entire campaign,” Galvin said, saying she doesn’t support the so-called Green New Deal, Medicare for all or for culling Second Amendment rights. “I’m really upset that this campaign has come to this,” she said. “You’re better than that, Don Young. A...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The major candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race attacked each other’s integrity and clashed on issues of health care and the Supreme Court in a high-profile broadcast debate less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 election. Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic-supported independent Al Gross somewhat shared the Anchorage debate stage; Sullivan, who appeared on a monitor beside Gross, participated from Washington, D.C., where the Senate is preparing to vote on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney B...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Eligible Alaska residents receiving unemployment checks from the state are expected to receive a $300 increase to their weekly payments beginning next week, officials said. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy approved the increase in August to replace a $600 increase from Congress that ended in July, The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday. The increase will be paid from a federal disaster relief fund for unemployment aid to counter the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump in August signed an e...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Al Gross commands a fishing boat as a narrator describes him prospecting for gold and killing a grizzly bear in self-defense in an ad meant to underscore a central theme of Gross' U.S. Senate campaign as an independent: that he knows Alaska. “Out here,” he says as the boat rocks on the water, “if you can't think for yourself, you won't survive.” Gross, a doctor running with Democratic support, is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in a state that has long been a GOP stronghold, outraising Sullivan and putting Re...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump has said he will issue a permit for a rail line connecting Alaska and Canada, he said. Trump sent a tweet last Friday citing the influence of two members of Alaska’s congressional delegation on his decision, The Anchorage Daily News reported. “I will be issuing a Presidential Permit for the A2A Cross-Border Rail between Alaska & Canada. Congratulations to the people of Alaska & Canada,” Trump said in the tweet. Trump credited what he called a “strong recommendation” by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and U...
A letter asking state officials to declare Southeast Alaska an area impacted by an economic disaster due to fishery losses was approved by the borough assembly at their meeting on Tuesday. The letter, addressed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Julie Anderson, commissioner of the department of commerce, community, and economic development, requests that they take steps to secure relief funding for fishermen in Southeast Alaska. The assembly also requested Dunleavy direct the Alaska Department of Fish...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson has resigned, shortly after details of text messages that the state’s married and socially conservative top law enforcement officer sent to a female state employee were revealed Tuesday. “Kevin Clarkson has admitted to conduct in the workplace that did not live up to our high expectations, and this is deeply disappointing,” Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. “This morning he took responsibility for the unintentional consequences of his actions and tendered...
It was inaction on health care that ultimately made Dr. Al Gross of Juneau decide to challenge Republican Dan Sullivan, who is running for a second, six-year term to represent Alaska in the U.S. Senate. Gross, who has opted for the Independent ticket, has fished his whole life, his four kids have fished to pay for college, and he left a 20 year career as an orthopedic surgeon to get a degree to go to work in public health. His campaign claims Dr. Gross has the "Prescription for Change." "As a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Independent Al Gross led the field in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Alaska, while the incumbent, Republican Dan Sullivan, ran unopposed in his primary Tuesday. Gross, an orthopedic surgeon, was endorsed by the state Democratic party last fall. He is the highest-profile candidate in that primary, which also includes Edgar Blatchford, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage and a former state commerce commissioner, and Chris Cumings, who, like Gross, is a registered nonpartisan. ...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An outside group focused on defeating President Donald Trump in November and “Trumpism” is running an ad in Alaska in support of independent Al Gross in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race. Gross is seeking to challenge first-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The ad, sponsored by The Lincoln Project and shared on its website, doesn’t mention Sullivan but an accompanying press release does. The release refers to Sullivan as “no longer a Republican nor a conservative” but a “Trumpist.” Trump carried Alaska with 51% of the vote in 20...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Initial unemployment claims in Alaska are down slightly from a historic high, but they are about 12 times what is typical for this time of year amid the economic fallout from coronavirus concerns, according to a state official and government figures Thursday. Initial claims for the most recent reporting week totaled 12,007, said Lennon Weller, actuary for the state’s unemployment insurance system. That compares with 14,590 claims the prior week, which the state labor department said far exceeded anything in Alaska’s histor...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will work with communities, industry leaders and others as it makes decisions on how to proceed in reopening sectors of the economy impacted by the coronavirus. Dunleavy said key to this will be monitoring case numbers. As of Tuesday, Alaska had reported 285 total cases of COVID-19, and nine deaths related to the coronavirus. The health of Alaskans will be a top consideration, Dunleavy said, adding he doesn’t “want anyone to get the wrong idea that we’re going to put the economy ahe...
For the month of February, Petersburg Medical Center saw its net operating revenue and total operating expenses come in over what was budgeted, according to PMC financial statements presented at the PMC Board of Directors meeting last Thursday. The net operating revenue was at $1,571,660 at the end of February, which was 12 percent above the budgeted $1,391,250 for the month. While the total operating expenses also came in over budget, February's revenue was able to offset the difference. PMC...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a declaration of disaster emergency at Monday's assembly meeting in response to the COVID-19 outbreak across the country and state. Additionally, the assembly approved an emergency ordinance that would allow the assembly to declare a quorum by calling into an assembly meeting instead of being present. By declaring a disaster emergency, the borough is putting itself in position to better receive state and federal emergency funding should the borough requir...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A new federal law is set to increase the national age limit for tobacco and e-cigarette purchases to 21, which will require Alaska to meet a standard that has already been established in Anchorage. Alaska law currently allows anyone 19 and older to buy tobacco, although Anchorage took legal steps four months ago to raise the age limit to 21, The Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday. Unless the Alaska Legislatures changes state laws, the new federal law will force an...
About 20 residents gathered on the evening of Dec. 18 at Buschmann Park to mark the United States House of Representatives' vote to impeach President Donald Trump. The group is also committed to reaching out to Sen. Dan Sullivan and Sen. Lisa Murkowski to encourage the two senators to act as impartial jurors when the articles of impeachment reach the United States Senate, according to Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, one of the organizers of the event. "Speaking for myself, I was relieved to...
The federal government’s plan to raze more roads through the Tongass National Forest is facing strong headwinds from fishermen, Native groups and coastal communities throughout Southeast Alaska. Over 220 Southeast Alaskan fishermen signed a letter to the Trump Administration last week opposing the abrupt push to exempt the Tongass National Forest from a roadless rule in place for over a decade. The exemption would release more than 9 million acres from protection and open nearly 200,000 acres to logging. The U.S. Forest Service made the a...
