Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 281
Decades ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System was a pillar of the state’s transportation network. Alaskans and visitors alike piled onto ferries running up and down the Inside Passage for a trip that was a little adventurous, a little luxurious — Dining rooms! Staterooms! Bars on board! — and close enough to the cost of driving through Canada that they were a strong contender for traveler dollars. Fast forward to the present, and the system is in grave danger of falling to pieces. Its only operating vessel until early March is the MV Lituy...
Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have identified a new species of thalattosaur, a marine reptile that lived more than 200 million years ago. The new species, Gunakadeit joseeae, is the most complete thalattosaur ever found in North America and has given paleontologists new insights about the thalattosaurs' family tree, according to a paper published recently in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientists found the fossil near Keku Island near the village of Kake in 2011....
Hannah Pfundt and Erin Pfundt have achieved Provost’s Honor Roll status for the Fall 2019 semester at Whitworth University. These students have been named to the Dean’s list for Fall 2019 semester at the University of Alaska Southeast. Andrew A Ayriss and Tiare R Simbahon of Petersburg and Tauni B Minelli and Shaelene G Moler of Kake....
January Following the shutdown of the U.S. government on Dec. 22, 2018, the U.S. Coast Guard stated it would continue offering essential services. The borough assembly approved $600,000 for a new baler. The USCG located debris from an overdue medivac aircraft that had three people onboard that was due to land in Kake several nights before. A decrease in air cargo coming into Petersburg affected the timely arrival of residents' packages after the retirement of Alaska Airlines' combi 737-400...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A project that maintains seismic monitoring stations in Alaska needs more funding to continue fully operating, officials said. Scientists, lawmakers and federal agencies are promoting the permanent installation of the Transportable Array Network, The Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday. The National Science Foundation project was installed temporarily beginning in 2014. The stations can monitor earthquake activity and track weather, wildfires and volcanoes. The system can also detect North Korean nuclear testing, o...
Former Petersburg resident Lawrence E. (Lonny) Heiner was born on 24 August 1938 in Grand Junction, Colorado, to Larry and Lola Heiner, and died on 14 November 2019 at home in Anacortes, Washington. When he was a year old, he and his parents, along with his paternal grandmother and an aunt and uncle, moved to Skagit County, Washington, to join a number of Heiner family members who lived in the area. His immediate family moved to Southeast Alaska when Lonny was 12. Lonny graduated as salutatorian from Petersburg (Alaska) High School in 1956. He... Full story
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The National Marine Fisheries Service proposed creating critical habitat sites to protect humpback whales that will extend to waters off Alaska, officials said. The habitats are focused on the feeding areas of groups of humpback whales and include the area off Juneau, The Juneau Empire reported Sunday. A critical habitat does not establish a sanctuary or preserve, said Lisa Manning, an official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the fisheries service. Manning conducted a public p...
As more Alaskans eye the lucrative opportunities in growing kelp, many others are heading to beaches at Lower Cook Inlet to commercially harvest the detached bunches that wash ashore. That practice is now getting a closer look by state managers and scientists and could result in new regulations by year’s end. Detached kelp harvests have occurred at Lower Cook Inlet under special permits since the 1970s but matters of who needs permits, for how much and for what purposes are not clearly defined. Currently, a special permit is needed for c...
Hundreds of fishery stakeholders and scientists will gather in Anchorage next week as the state Board of Fisheries (BOF) begins its annual meeting cycle with a two-day work session. The seven-member BOF sets the rules for the state’s subsistence, commercial, sport and personal use fisheries. It meets four to six times each year in various communities on a three-year rotation; this year the focus is on Kodiak and Cook Inlet. The fish board and the public also will learn the latest on how a changing climate and off kilter ocean chemistry are a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The number of moon jellyfish floating in Alaska waters has increased and residents should be prepared, scientists said. Warm ocean temperatures and plentiful food in the form of zooplankton have contributed to the increased sightings, the Juneau Empire reported Friday. The moon jellyfish, also known as Aurelia aurita, released sperm and eggs freely into the water during spring spawning season, said Sherry Tamone, a professor of marine biology at the University of Alaska Southeast. The jellyfish fertilized independent of t...
Federal stewards of Alaska’s fisheries will meet in Homer for the first time since 1983 as they continue their pursuit of involving more people in policy making. From September 30 to October 10, the Spit will be aswarm with entourages of the 15 member North Pacific Fishery Management Council which oversees more than 25 stocks in waters from three to 200 miles offshore, the source of most of Alaska’s fish volumes. The NPFMC is one of eight regional councils established by the Magnuson-(Ted) Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 197...
Three elementary school teachers and one high school teacher have begun teaching in the Petersburg School District. Hillary Mullen is teaching kindergarten. Heidi Cabral was originally going to be a fourth grade teacher at the start of the school year, but she became an elementary special education teacher. Carla Green is teaching fifth grade, and Ioana Ward is the new science teacher at Petersburg High School. Mullen was studying at the University of Wyoming when she participated in an...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — Russian adventurer Anatoly Kazakevich sailed into town on a double-hulled inflatable sailboat Monday morning, completing the last leg of an 8,000-mile journey to Sitka from the Siberian city of Irkutsk. Kazakevich and his crew, which ranged between two and six members along the route, sailed the inflatable catamaran Iskatel across the North Pacific Ocean to Homer, Alaska, last year. After wintering in southcentral waters, the Iskatel (which means “searcher’’) brought Kazakevich to Sitka this week to mark the complet...
James Richard Schramek, 70, died at Providence Medical Center in Anchorage on August 28, 2019 from an unexpected GI bleed. On November 9, 1949 Jim was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Richard and Elaine Schramek. He was raised in Richfield, Minnesota. Attended Richfield High School and played Football and Baseball. In summers, he worked on the Arndt family farm in Owatonna, Minnesota. Jim followed the Schramek family's passion for camping, hunting and fishing. Deer, ducks, geese, squirrels, if... Full story
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Add salmon to the list of species affected by Alaska’s blistering summer temperatures, including the hottest July on record. Dead salmon have shown up in river systems throughout Alaska, and the mortalities are probably connected to warm water or low river water levels, said Sam Rabung, director of commercial fisheries for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The department has not quantified past heat-related fish deaths because they tended to be sporadic and inconsistent, Rabung said. But department scientists thi...
Adam Pack, a professor and marine mammal scientist with the University of Hawaii Hilo, gave a presentation at the Petersburg Library on Tuesday on the data he has collected on humpback whales this summer and over the course of his research. Humpback whales are season breeders with separate feeding and breeding grounds. The humpback whales that can be seen throughout Southeast Alaska during the summer are feeding in the region before returning back to their breeding grounds in Hawaii, near Maui....
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The University of Alaska has taken its first steps toward consolidating its three accredited campuses into a single entity. Facing severe budget cuts as a result of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto pen, the UA Board of Regents voted Tuesday to authorize President Jim Johnsen to immediately reduce administrative costs and prepare a plan for a transition to a single institution. Johnsen painted a dire financial picture for the university and said delaying a decision would compound the size of the cuts to be made later this yea...
Alaska Fish and Game biologist Troy Thynes has accepted the role of regional management coordinator for commercial fisheries, which is the first time the position has been held in Petersburg. Thynes has been with the Petersburg Fish and Game office since 2000 when he took a job as a fish and wildlife technician. After a year, he transferred to the area management department as an assistant. In 2009, he took over as area management biologist for the Petersburg and Wrangell area. Now he oversees...
A well-intended new Alaska law has gone awry from a botched roll out that has turned thousands of Alaskan fishing vessel, tender, barge and sport fish operators into lawbreakers. Since the start of 2019, all vessels over 24 feet are required to be registered with the State at a Department of Motor Vehicles office. Previously, vessels that were documented with the US Coast Guard were not also required to register with the state. The registration costs $24 and is good for three years. “You need to get down to the DMV whether you’re doc...
Salmon dominates the summer fishing headlines but it’s among many other fisheries going on throughout the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. Alaska’s salmon season has gotten off to a mixed start, with strong catches in some regions over the past month and dismal hauls in others. Good harvests have continued at the Copper River and more recently throughout Prince William Sound. That’s not been the case at Kodiak, Cook Inlet and Chignik where fishing is off to a very slow start. Trollers are targeting Chinook salmon in Southeast, and other salmo...
Clair Byrer Parents: Carli and Michael Byrer Number of years in Petersburg schools: 13 High School awards or honors: ASTE People’s Choice, ASTE First Place Digitally Enhanced Photo, National Honor Society, 4 years of Honor Roll Plans following graduation: Travelling and learning new knitting techniques Favorite music genre? Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Israel Collison Parents: Jeremy and Marissa Collison Number of years in Petersburg schools: 12 Plans following graduation: Study Mechanics Joshua E Coonrad Parents: Mark and G...
The Panhandle plans to be the next Alaska region to give new life to old fishing gear by sending it to plastic recycling centers. The tons of nets and lines piled up in local lots and landfills will become the raw material for soda bottles, cell phone cases, sunglasses, skateboards, swimsuits and more. Juneau, Haines, Petersburg and possibly Sitka have partnered with Net Your Problem to launch an effort this year to send old or derelict seine and gillnets to a recycler in Richmond, British Columbia. “We’re going to be working in a new loc...
Rocio Tejera-Elejabeitia will be taking over as financial controller at the Petersburg Medical Center following the exit of the chief financial officer Doran Hammett. After she was hired last month, Tejera-Elejabeitia has been working alongside Hammett and learning the day-to-day controller functions, such as month and quarterly closing. Hammett announced his departure in January after five years with PMC to be closer to his family in Oklahoma. Tejera-Elejabeitia has also been training with...
With their first meet about a month away, the Petersburg High School track and field team has been practicing five times a week since late February. The team will be competing in 16 events throughout the season, including the 200 and 3200 meter sprint, 300 meter hurdle, 4x100 and 4x800 meter relays, high jump and discus. There are five meets this season, including the regional meet. The first meet will be in Ketchikan from April 19 - 20. "I'm just really excited to see what these athletes can...
The Petersburg School Board officially approved the hire of Heather Conn as Rae C. Stedman Elementary School principal on Tuesday beginning August, 2019. "I am sure as I walked through the halls today and saw the two principals together meeting already, that Heather has already hit the ground running and planning for next year," said school board president Mara Lutomski at Tuesday's school board meeting. Conn has been with the school district since 2014 when she began working on her internship...
