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The keynote speaker at the chamber of commerce dinner last weekend is the owner of a cruise line that specializes in exclusive trips, and he announced that one of his ships based in Sitka is moving its homeport to Petersburg. Dan Blanchard, owner of UnCruise Adventures, operates a fleet of nine ships, seven of which are in Alaska. Blanchard announced at the Sons of Norway hall on Saturday that the Safari Quest would be homeporting in Petersburg starting this year, and the captain is his...
The borough assembly on Monday finalized two ordinances that plan to generate revenue by charging fees on tax exemption cards and cruise ship passengers who come to Petersburg. Assembly members approved an ordinance to impose a $100 annual fee on senior citizens who qualify and apply for a tax exemption card. The fee is waived to qualified applicants who sign an affidavit claiming they have a combined household income that doesn’t exceed $20,000. Household was defined at the meeting as a tax filer, plus a spouse, plus dependents. The senior s...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The number of cruise ship visitors in Alaska is primed to make a sizeable jump in the next two years, a cruise industry expert said. John Binkley, the president of Cruise Lines International Association Alaska, said his organization has predicted that the number of cruise ship visitors will jump 19 percent between 2017 and 2019, the Juneau Empire reported Wednesday. Binkley said that would mean 200,000 more visitors in Alaska. About 1.1 million cruise visitors came to Alaska in 2017, which was the most in state history, h...
The borough assembly held a work session on Monday to discuss a plan to impose restrictions on who's eligible for senior sales tax exemption, along with a shorter talk on a passenger fee for cruise ships. In a public discussion, hosted by the assembly to hear community member input, an agreement was made that an annual fee ought to be charged to those who'd like a sales tax exemption card. The goal would be to offset costs that go into processing exemption cards for those 65 or older. The...
December 28, 1917 Mr. Anderson reports that the company’s manager, M.B. Dahl, who is now in Tacoma, plans to return north in February, when it is probable he will start the building of a one-line cannery at Saginaw Bay. The company is also considering the matter of building a cold-storage plant, for the handling of halibut, salmon, and other varieties of fresh fish. December 25, 1942 Santa Claus appeared as scheduled at the Emblem Club pot-luck supper and party last Tuesday evening. Children of Elks and Emblem Club members were especially f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The cruise industry has dodged a tax increase after Alaska’s U.S. senators helped strike the provision from the tax bill that passed the Senate. The bill approved early Saturday includes other provisions that Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan hailed as significant for Alaskans, including allowing oil and gas drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Murkowski called the package “a critical milestone in our efforts to secure Alaska’s future.” The measure also would pro...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly talked at length in a meeting last week about forming a tax committee, made of community members who could explain how tax finances work and eventually bring recommendations to the council. “I’ve had a chance to talk to several members of the community who had all kinds of questions about senior citizen property tax exemptions and overall sales tax,” said Jeff Meucci, an assembly member. “And what the trends are.” As a result, the assembly agreed to ask community members to sit on a short term – possibly si...
Karen Hofstad, an independent traveler from Petersburg, recently spent a month on a cruise that sailed through the Northwest Passage. Aboard the Crystal Serenity, Hofstad started a month-long expedition from Seward, Alaska, to New York. Being a history buff, Hofstad was less concerned with the landscapes -- majestic, as advertised by Crystal Cruises -- and more prepared to learn from the experts onboard and local villagers along the way. She was surprised by the Northwest Passage. It looked...
With Southeast Conference wrapping up in Haines this morning, municipalities, businesses and individuals from around the region should have a better idea of how the economy is faring. Each year, SEC’s Southeast Alaska By the Numbers report looks at the preceding year’s demographic and labor statistics, noting trends and making forecasts where possible. Released just this week, the report for 2016 indicated it had been a tough year for the region, economically speaking. For the first time since 2007 jobs and earnings were both down from the prev...
National Geographic has a new cruise ship and it stopped in Petersburg on Monday, where the Chamber of Commerce gifted the captain with an inaugural plaque to commemorate the ship's first visit to the city. "On behalf of the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce," David Byrne said to Captain Andrew Cook. "We would just like to welcome you and your crew and your guests to the city of Petersburg." Marc Cappelletti, the director of expedition development on the ship, ushered representatives from the...
WRANGELL – Wrapping up a visit to Wrangell over the weekend, cruise ship The World was on its way to Petersburg late Monday when a medical emergency took precedence. Wrangell Fire Chief Tim Buness received a call from the local emergency dispatcher at around 8:15 p.m., relaying that the vessel required assistance. He contacted the United States Coast Guard about the situation. At 644 feet, The World is the largest private residential ship on earth. During its several-day stay in Wrangell it r...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A record breaking amount of cruise passengers are expected to land in Juneau this summer. The Juneau Empire reports Cruise Lines International Association Alaska President John Binkley announced Thursday that over 1 million summer cruise passengers are traveling to Juneau. The assocition predicts the travelers in the city from May 1 to Sept. 30 will spend around $183 million. Binkley says that the cruise ship tourism industry is growing worldwide. CLIA’s cruise lines have seen an estimated 7 percent annual increase. Mor...
JUNEAU (AP) – The city of Juneau has decided to put up another $100,000 to defend itself in a lawsuit brought by the cruise industry alleging it misused funds paid by cruise ship passengers. The $100,000 approved by the Juneau Assembly on Monday was drawn from the city’s sales tax fund levied on merchants within the city. It is in addition to more than $283,000 the city has already spent in legal fees in the case. Some of the funds have been covered by marine passenger fees. The lawsuit filed by Cruise Lines International Association in Apr...
A mechanical delay and lost luggage put former Petersburg mayor Dave Carlson and wife Celia at the Fort Lauderdale airport just minutes before shooting broke out in Terminal 2 baggage claim area on Friday. The Carlsons left their Bend, Oregon home for a 10-day cruise aboard the Harmony of the Seas, 6,000 passenger cruise ship destined for the Caribbean. A mechanical put them in Ft. Lauderdale 6 hours late, without their luggage. They were told Friday morning that American Airlines had...
A mechanical delay and lost luggage put former Petersburg mayor Dave Carlson and wife Celia at the Fort Lauderdale airport just minutes before shooting broke out in Terminal 2 baggage claim area on Friday. The Carlsons left their Bend, Oregon home for a 10-day cruise aboard the Harmony of the Seas, 6,000 passenger cruise ship destined for the Caribbean. A mechanical put them in Ft. Lauderdale 6 hours late, without their luggage. They were told Friday morning that American Airlines had... Full story
PETERSBURG (KDN) – Southeast Alaska is on track to receive its millionth cruise ship passenger this week. The milestone was announced at Southeast Conference on Tuesday by Meilani Schijvens, who produces the Southeast Alaska by the Numbers report that tracks the region’s economic performance. Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch attended the conference and said on Tuesday that he planned to return to Juneau for a Thursday ceremony welcoming Southeast’s millionth passenger. This year is the first since 2009 that more than 1 million cruise passengers will...
PETERSBURG – Southeast Alaska’s economic growth is flattening out after five strong years, according to a new report for Southeast Conference. Southeast Alaska by the Numbers, a report prepared every year ahead of the regional development group’s annual September meeting, has mostly good news for the region. The report covers changes in population, jobs and visitors from 2010 to 2015. Compared to 2010, Southeast is faring well in four of five major areas: Population, labor force, job earnings and visitors, all of which saw growth of at least...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A bear that mauled two cruise ship wilderness guides during a hiking excursion in Alaska attacked so quickly that there was little time to defend against the animal, the CEO of the cruise ship company said. The attack occurred after the guides and a group of hikers from the cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer rounded a “semi-blind corner” and found themselves between the bear and her cub, UnCruise Adventures CEO Dan Blanchard told the Juneau Empire in an interview published Tuesday. “I can’t express enough about how rapid...
If you ask Wayne Short what his profession was he'll most likely respond with acute, warm laughter. The Petersburg resident will be turning 90 next week, and his resume includes veteran, carpenter, hunter, trapper, fisherman and author. Short's first book The Cheechakoes, published in 1964, became popular in Europe, and it bought him his first big boat, the F/V Denny M, a 45-footer that allowed him to start making "real money." The story of Short's life strongly follows the footsteps of his...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) – The city of Sitka has announced that construction will start on the second phase of an oceanside sidewalk project thanks to more than $1.3 million in state funding. The money awarded through the Alaska Transportation Alternatives Program will help cover the cost of extending the walkway. The Sitka Sea Walk project is one of 12 projects funded statewide in the program under the state’s transportation department, The Sitka Sentinel reported. City Engineer Dan Tadic said the next phase of construction will extend the sea wal...
We’ll never forget To the Editor: We want to thank the Petersburg community for the kindness and support you gave to us after the tragic loss of our granddaughter and niece, Molly Parks. Molly will be forever in our memories and hearts. She was unique, a special gift, kind, amazing, and beautiful. We want to give special thanks to the emergency and medical response teams, and to all the folks who helped R.D. and Madonna through that terrible day and night. When we arrived in Petersburg on July 7, we were greeted with warm welcomes, hugs, and m...
Skate of Gear moving closer to downtown is definitely helping year-round business. The family owned and operated store doesn’t focus on tourism. Any summer dollars from out of town guests is just a bonus. “I find that we don’t really carry or buy things that I would consider a tourist type of product,” says Lisa Nilsen. “We buy more for local customers.” Tourists will stop in to buy jewelry and cards, but that’s about it. The fact that Skate of Gear lacks large display windows is not helping business a bunch, but Nilsen likes the new location....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Tourists who want to look at seal pups resting among Alaska’s glacial fjords may be making things harder for the marine animals. Cruise ship traffic in the glacial fjords an import nursery area for harbor seal pups has increased ten-fold in the past 30 years, the Juneau Empire reported. Biologists like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration’s John Jansen have been collecting data on seals in the fjords of southeast Alaska. Jansen has been studying harbor seals in Disenchantment Bay, one of the fjords among...
JUNEAU (AP) — While environmentalists are quick to complain about cruise ships dumping waste in the ocean, officials say Alaska ferries have even more lenient rules for treating wastewater. State ferries use water treatment systems that were standard in the 1970s, state Department of Environmental Conservation cruise ship program specialist Ed White said. Eight of the 11 state-owned ferries use chlorine to kill bacteria and then grind waste before discharging that slurry with used water from sinks, toilets and showers, White told the Juneau E...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A sightseeing floatplane that crashed in a mountainous area in southeast Alaska, killing all nine people on board, was equipped with technology to provide detailed information about the terrain, according to a federal accident report released Tuesday. The preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board also said the June 25 crash occurred in conditions of reduced visibility. However, it drew no conclusions about the cause of the crash. The deHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop crashed on a steep cliff about 25 m...
