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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday voiced his opposition to a push in Alaska aimed at recalling Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, with a decision expected soon on whether the effort will advance. Trump tweeted that Democrats are treating Dunleavy unfairly and trying to recall him because of an agenda that Trump said includes jobs, energy and the economy. Claire Pywell, who manages the Recall Dunleavy campaign, said the effort is not partisan and the group is being mischaracterized. “Yes, it is charged. Yes, it is political,...
The Petersburg Borough has collect roughly $38,000 in marine passenger fees, with a possible $11,000 still to be collected, said Finance Director Jody Tow at an assembly meeting last week. The assembly approved the marine passenger fee in February of last year, which collects a $5 fee from cruise ship passengers that visit the borough. It came into effect in 2019, and all but one cruise ship has submitted their marine passenger fees, which total to about $38,000. The borough had originally...
Mayoral candidates Jeff Meucci General Information Age: 64 Experience: I served on the Petersburg Park & Recreation advisory board, the Petersburg City council and served two terms as the Petersburg mayor from 1995 thru 1999. I was appointed to my current Borough Assembly seat and was elected to my Assembly seat two years ago. During my time as the Petersburg Mayor I traveled extensively as the number one advocate for the City of Petersburg. Why do you seek public office? I am seeking public...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An industry trade group predicts the number of Alaska cruise ship passengers will break records in 2020 for the fifth consecutive year. CoastAlaska reports the outlook comes from Cruise Lines International Association Alaska. The projections were announced Wednesday at the annual meeting of Southeast Conference, taking place in Sitka. According to the association’s data, at least 1.44 million cruise ship passengers are expected in Alaska next year. That’s a 6 % increase. Cruise ship traffic increased by about 200,0...
A second forum was held last Thursday after the mayoral forum for the four assembly candidates running for two seats on the borough assembly. The candidates gave support for local issues and answered questions from representatives from KFSK, the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and the Petersburg Pilot. Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Marc Martinsen, Chelsea Tremblay and Aaron Hankins were each asked the same questions and had two minutes to respond. The order of the candidates changed with each...
Ongoing concern about cruise ships dumping their grey water and sewage into Petersburg's harbors and nearby waters caused assembly members to agree on Friday that the borough needs to take some form of action. "I was at the harbor on Tuesday and that was all I could think about," said Assembly Member Jeff Meucci. "'Oh that's great. There's stuff in there.' I think we need to sort it out with [the cruise ship industry] and let them know it's not acceptable here." At the start of the assembly...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Attorneys for a Utah man accused of killing his wife on a cruise to Alaska in 2017 have filed a notice of intent to change his plea. Kenneth Manzanares was charged with murder in the death of his wife, Kristy. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. His attorneys, in a filing with a federal court, said the parties involved in the case are working to finalize the details of a plea agreement. They asked for a court date in November. A message seeking comment was left for Rich Curtner, one of Manzanares’ attorneys. Ass... Full story
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A program that monitors Alaska's cruise ships could be restructured by the governor's administration, officials said. The future remains uncertain for the Ocean Rangers program, CoastAlaska reported Thursday. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed line items equaling $444 million in reductions to Alaska's operating budget in June. The cuts included the Ocean Rangers budget. The state Legislature restored the program's $3.4 million in passenger fee funding, but another veto...
On July 12, the cruise ship Safari Quest discharged their wastewater into Petersburg Harbor due to a malfunctioning fan. The fan impeded the normal processing of wastewater and a small amount of poorly processed material was released into the harbor before the mistake was noticed and the valve was shut off, according to Dan Blanchard, CEO of UnCruise Adventures, in a prepared statement. "We sincerely regret the incident and want to assure the community this is not our usual practice," said...
An investigation by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation revealed that the Le Soléal did not dump sewage into Frederick Sound near Le Conte Bay earlier this month after a report of "brown sludge" being seen near the cruise ship's anchorage. The DEC conducted an onboard inspection, reviewed the electronic monitoring records for the ship's pumps, observed samples taken of the ship's treated water and talked to crew members of the Le Soléal, said Ed White of the commercial p...
While last week's unfounded account that the visiting cruise ship Le Soleal discharged sewage into Frederick Sound gave anti-cruise ship groups a reason to oust the ships from Borough area waterways, Petersburg needs to make sure they are a part of the solution for keeping our waterways clean. We hope the assembly will discuss and plan to construct a waterfront pumping station that will allow boats of all sizes to discharge sewage into the Petersburg's wastewater system. It would be a good use...
A fisherman reported raw sewage had been dumped into Frederick Sound near Le Conte Bay on the morning of July 10, but the cruise ship Le Soléal's captain, Erwan Le Rouzic, said any sewage found in the bay could not have been from them. "This cannot be us," wrote Le Rouzic in a statement to Dave Berg of Viking Travel. "It is impossible. We are strictly following the most stringent rules in Alaska waters." Berg first contacted Le Rouzic after some fishermen noticed a presence of "long brown...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Legislature failed Wednesday to override budget vetoes by Gov. Mike Dunleavy that will prompt a massive 41% cut of state funding to the University of Alaska and lay waste to other programs the governor deemed unaffordable. More than one-third of lawmakers missed the vote — many because of an ongoing dispute about where the Legislature should have met for the special session. Lawmakers needed 45 votes — a three-fourths majority of the 60 members of the state Senate and House — to override the vetoes by Dunl...
Violation of Trust To the Editor: I am very shocked and disappointed at the callous manner in which the Administration and Legislature have let down Alaska's brightest and promising students. Performance scholarships were granted to 3270 merit based Alaskan youth at a cost of S10.8 million annually. Nearly 1 in 5 students seeking degrees had qualified for a scholarship. The other program, needs based education grants, or financial aid, were granted to 2,030 degree seeking students. More than 1...
An investigation by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation revealed that the Le Soléal did not dump sewage into Frederick Sound near Le Conte Bay earlier this month after a report of "long brown sludge" seen near the cruise ship's anchorage. The DEC conducted an onboard inspection, reviewed the electronic monitoring records for the ship's pumps, observed samples taken of the ship's treated water and talked to crew members of the Le Soléal, said Ed White of the commercial p... Full story
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The message on the front page of Alaska's second-largest newspaper was unmistakable. A nearly 2-inch (5-centimeter) headline, outlined in red, in Monday's edition of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner contained a single word: OVERRIDE. It appeared over a full-page editorial calling for state lawmakers to "save Alaska" from severe budget vetoes by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the likely economic devastation that would follow. Emotions are running high ahead of a joint legislative s...
Senator is wrong To the Editor: Last fall the USFS held public meetings on the repeal of the Roadless Rule. The consensus was overwhelming public support in favor of the Roadless Rule as it now stands, from Alaskans who live, work and play here. Since the last 10 years the Roadless Rule was formalized for Alaska, many local guiding tours and a new a line of smaller, more personal cruise ships now rely on Roadless Rule lands, besides the mega ships that bring over a million passengers a year to...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska air carrier involved in two deadly floatplane crashes in a week has voluntarily suspended operations, federal officials said Tuesday. The halt of flightseeing and commuter flights is in place indefinitely, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The action comes after the passenger and the pilot of a Beaver floatplane operated by Taquan Air were killed when the single-engine aircraft crashed in Metlakatla Harbor on Monday afternoon during a 22-mile (35-kilometer) commuter flight from Ketchikan. T...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Dive teams plunged into the icy cold waters of a southeast Alaska inlet Tuesday, searching an area the size of 24 football fields for two cruise ship passengers missing after two sightseeing planes collided. The Coast Guard has confirmed four fatalities in the collision Monday afternoon near Ketchikan, a popular destination for cruise ships in Alaska. Ten people, all Americans, were injured. The missing passengers were from Canada and Australia, Princess Cruises said. The Royal Princess, which can carry up to 3,600 p...
The editorial staff of the Petersburg Pilot and Wrangell Sentinel earned ten awards at this years Alaska Press Club contest. The awards were announced at the APC awards banquet in Anchorage on Saturday night. Work published in 2018 was judged. First place awards went to Brian Varela for a culture story about PIA and Sealaska teaching Sea Otter skin sewing, and Caleb Vierkant for a business story about the close of the cruise ship season in Wrangell. A second place award went to Caleb Vierkant...
WRANGELL - A meeting was held at City Hall last Wednesday to discuss the upcoming cruise ship season, as well as some proposed projects around City Dock. In a previous meeting to discuss the city's priorities for the cruise season, held last January, it was agreed to look into the feasibility of two improvement projects at City Dock. One idea was the construction of a covered area along the dock's walkway. Having a covered area on the dock could serve as booths for vendors on one half of the w...
The government shutdown has caused few problems so far in Alaska’s fisheries, but concern is growing as it enters a third week. The shutdown of nine out of 15 federal departments and agencies on Dec. 21 has furloughed about 800,000 workers nationwide, most with no pay, including fishery oversight and research jobs. In many cases, that means there’s no one to issue fishing permits, licenses or other documents and services required before setting out. “I have not heard of any problems, but that’s not to say that there aren’t any,” said Forres...
January The borough assembly received a proposed update to its zoning code that would introduce a new form of affordable housing, an expansion of the historical and industrial districts and the end of a requirement for businesses to include parking downtown. The borough assembly held a work session to discuss a plan to impose restrictions on the senior tax exemption. A possible annual fee to sales tax exemption card holders was agreed upon ranging between $50 and $60. Police Chief Kelly Swihart...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — Ketchikan city officials are mulling the potential impacts of a federal court decision on the use of cruise ship passenger fees. U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland last week ruled that while Juneau can keep collecting the fees, their use must constitute a service to the ship. The decision restricting use of the fees came in a lawsuit brought against Juneau by the cruise industry. Other communities, such as Ketchikan, have their own passenger fees. There is also a state head tax. Juneau officials have not a...
On Monday, the borough assembly voted against sending a letter drafted by Mayor Mark Jensen to Viking Cruise Lines stating that Petersburg isn't ready for larger cruise ships to come to town. In the letter, Jensen said the town isn't ready to handle more than 250 tourists from ships in any given day, and he is concerned with an increase in traffic flow during the busy, summer months on Nordic Dr. He also writes that he is worried that larger cruise ships could lead to Petersburg becoming a touri...
