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A Silicon Valley company and a Petersburg-raised developer are teaming up to bring a small artificial intelligence data center to the former Ocean Beauty pier and cannery facility, a proposal that drew both cautious enthusiasm and skepticism from the public at last week's borough assembly meeting. Sam Anoka, founder and CEO of Greensparc, addressed the assembly April 20 via Zoom, outlining plans to deploy what he described as a micro-scale data center at the property owned by Andrew Mazzella,...
Construction has begun on the expansion of the Tlingit and Haida Airport Subdivision near Mountain View Manor, and the first visible sign of that work - the removal of roughly 300 feet of the area's popular boardwalk trail - has prompted some dismay from residents who say they were caught off guard by the closure. The boardwalk trail section that runs through the muskeg from the Mountain View Manor area toward the Hungry Point Loop trail will remain closed to the public for the duration of...
The Alaska Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to reform the state’s pension system for public employees, ending months of debate on future retirement benefits for Alaska’s state and municipal employees, including teachers and police officers. The measure aims to address the consequences of a 2006 decision by Alaska lawmakers to eliminate the state pension plan that guaranteed income in retirement, and replace it with a 401(k) style plan that has since left many public-sector workers without the funds to retire securely. Union leaders and oth...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a joint resolution last Monday with the City and Borough of Wrangell establishing a framework for sharing hydroelectric power from the Tyee Lake project and coordinating future energy-intensive economic development. Wrangell Borough Manager Mason Villarma, in a March 24 report to the Wrangell Assembly, described the resolution as formalizing “a proactive framework for collaboration as both communities pursue energy-intensive economic opportunities.” Villarma framed the agreement as set...
The first draft of the Petersburg School District's budget anticipates a $343,000 deficit, which is more than last month's estimate. In a presentation to the school board on Thursday, April 24, school officials said that's because the district's enrollment projections went down, and they had hired more paraprofessionals. But other expenses, like health insurance and curriculum costs, turned out lower than expected. The district is planning to spend $11.6 million next school year. Last year, the...
There are two types of people in the world, those who salivate at the idea of being a lighthouse keeper, and those whose mouths go dry at the idea. What is it about lighthouses? They're a symbol of isolation, but their purpose is to connect with and protect others. They're used as a metaphor for everything from hope to knowledge to love, but name a book, movie, or TV show with a lighthouse that doesn't have someone die in it. Lighthouse keepers are stereotyped as antisocial hermits, but who...
Subscribers can use the link below to access this week's PDF Edition, or use the E-Editions button on the homepage for all of our current and archived PDFs. Click here to view this week's PDF. Thanks for subscribing!... Full story
Petersburg's Borough Assembly on Monday unanimously approved a highly anticipated lease agreement with American Cruise Lines, a small cruise ship company that frequently stops in Petersburg. It's increasing its summer visits to town, and wants to build a cruise ship dock for its small passenger ships in Petersburg. The Borough will lease part of its tidelands at the end of Dock Street next to the U.S. Coast Guard Dock to the company, which will build a mooring float and gangway there to support... Full story
The Keet Yaakw is the first Alaska Native-designed canoe to be launched out of Petersburg, at least since Petersburg was incorporated as a town in 1910. Petersburg Indian Association Tribal Council Vice President ShaaL'aanee Brandon Ware described the feeling of bringing the new canoe towards shore at Sandy Beach, where it was unveiled to the public. "Coming into the bay, I knew we were seeing the same thing our people have seen since time immemorial... when it was a seasonal fish camp for thous...
The Friends of Petersburg Libraries marked their 25th anniversary Tuesday with a celebration at the Petersburg Public Library that doubled as a community tribute to two figures who have shaped the library and the town's cultural life for decades: revered Petersburg historian Don Nelson and retiring library staff member Chris Weiss, who served the library for nearly 40 years. The event drew community members, library staff, borough officials and representatives from the Clausen Museum to share...
The U.S. Forest Service is bringing its Tongass National Forest Plan revision process to Petersburg this week, with an in-person community workshop scheduled for 5-7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in the Borough Assembly Chambers. The event is part of a series of workshops running across 19 Southeast Alaska communities through early May — a rare opportunity for the public to provide direct input before the agency completes a draft plan. Revision coordinator Erin Mathews described it as “a bonus” engagement round not typically built into the feder...
Dear Readers, it's a pleasure to announce that your local newspaper, the Petersburg Pilot has been named Alaska's Best Weekly Newspaper for 2025. The Pilot staff works hard to bring you a top notch local paper each week, and it is a much appreciated affirmation of the effort and all the community support that makes that effort possible. Whether you pick up a copy each week at one of the dozen business vendors around town, or are a subscriber, or are one of the local advertisers who, through...
Petersburg's new utility director, Steve Harbour took the podium at the March 16 borough assembly meeting to address what he recognized as a public information problem. "In the two years I've been at Power and Light, I've built up a lot of questions and heard a lot of misinformation," said Harbour, "Nobody's fault. I worked pretty close with Power and Light for years as an electrician, and I couldn't answer some of the stuff I'm going to talk about tonight." The 45-minute presentation that...
Petersburg police, fire and EMS personnel conducted a multi-agency active threat training exercise at Stedman Elementary School after school hours on Wednesday, April 15. The Petersburg Police Department issued a public service announcement ahead of the exercise alerting residents that emergency vehicles and personnel would be visible in and around the school and asking the public to avoid the immediate area. The drill was organized by Petersburg Police Sgt. Drew Ayriss and EMS Coordinator Ryan...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously last week to sell two borough-owned parcels to local developer Dave Ohmer for $61,800. Ohmer plans to build a duplex on each property, which are on Haugen Drive near the hospital WERC building. Ohmer has not signed the deeds yet, but he told KFSK he was happy the contract specifically outlined that the property would be used to build housing rentals. “I hope this is a bit of a template for them to do this with a lot more people around town, and try to get lots into private hands,” Ohmer sai... Full story
This past Saturday, Petersburg celebrated their 27th Beat the Odds race, a fundraiser that supports local cancer related programs such as cancer treatment level, equipment training and more for patients and families. So many families came out in support and either ran or walked their way, starting at Sandy Beach. "It continues to impact people all over town. Either a member of their family or themselves, or a good friend. People want to help," committee member Marlene Cushing said. The money...
In early April, Region V Music Fest took place in Ketchikan, bringing southeast Alaska music together in one spot for a few days. Petersburg, which brought 40 students to the music fest, had been working tirelessly on various forms of music for this event, full of different languages. "Our jazz band has been working on a few different tunes that are big band swing, a funk and a Latin piece," music teacher Chelsea Corrao said. "Choir, we did a lot of foreign language, we had a Spanish piece and N...
The Mitkof Dance Troupe (MDT) brought the circus to town, with elephants, clowns, acrobats, feats of strength, magicians, fire dancers, lion tamers, and even circus animal cookies. 125 dancers from pre-K to graduating seniors performed to a packed auditorium Monday night and a line down the block on Tuesday. Signs of a successful program, despite the challenges that MDT faces to purchase the studio building. As for opening night, "It went really smooth," said Olivia Reid, MDT executive director...
The number of cruise ship stops in Petersburg is down again this year, continuing a trend that has seen the town’s port call count slip from around 110 in 2022 to 85 scheduled for 2026. But local travel agents say the picture on the ground is more stable than the numbers initially suggest. The drop in stops this year is due to the closure this winter of Sitka-based, Allen Marine-owned Alaskan Dream Cruises. Its fleet, the Alaskan Dream, Admiralty Dream, Baranof Dream and Chichagof Dream, carried between 40 and 80 passengers each and have b...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously Monday to support House Bill 78, legislation that would restore a defined benefit retirement option for Alaska public employees and teachers — and added language calling on the Legislature to reject an amendment that critics say would burden local governments. Resolution 2026-10, passed at the April 13 regular assembly meeting, expresses the borough’s support for HB 78, which would allow employees in the Public Employees’ Retirement System Tier 4 and Teachers’ Retirement System Tier 3 to opt...
A recent round of improvements to the Wright Auditorium has brought the Petersburg performance venue's technical capabilities to the next level - and a longtime volunteer behind the scenes says the upgrades are already changing how productions come together. Dave Berg, who has handled lighting and technical operations at the auditorium for decades, said the project took shape about a year ago when he convened the venue's primary user groups - the school drama club, the Mitkof Mummers and the...
When Fire and EMS Director Aaron Hankins signed up a team of Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department volunteers for a pediatric CPR competition at the annual Southeast Regional EMS Council symposium in Juneau last month, he told them they would thank him later. Petersburg's EMS volunteers didn't just win the competition - they swept the field which included some far more experienced EMS professionals from bigger cities in Southeast. But for Hankins, EMS Coordinator Ryan Gilkey, and the volunteers...
When Dave and Nancy Berg sold Viking Travel at the start of 2023, they said they were handing the keys to the right people. Three years later, the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce resoundingly agreed. The chamber named Viking Travel the 2025 Business of the Year at its annual banquet Saturday, citing the business - co-owned by James and Madeleine Valentine - for their community involvement, their contribution to the Petersburg economy, and their commitment to keeping Petersburg a vibrant place to...
Cora Campbell, president and CEO of Silver Bay Seafoods, returned to her hometown of Petersburg as guest speaker Saturday evening at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet. Over the course of about 20 minutes, she drew a through-line from the town's 1897 founding to the hard lessons of the 2023 salmon crisis - and outlined an optimistic slate of value-added products she said will soon be flowing through the Petersburg plant. "As pink salmon goes, so goes the economy," Campbell told...
After more than three decades of planning, Petersburg’s Scow Bay marine facility project is approaching construction, and the borough has begun the process of clearing the site — notifying businesses leasing borough-owned parcels at the location that their leases will end this fall. Harbormaster Glo Wollen sent letters April 3 to tenants at the Scow Bay site outlining a schedule that calls for all leases on borough property there to end Sept. 30, 2026, at the earliest. Tenants then have 60 days under their lease terms to remove equipment and...
