Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 6726
In a strategic move to support management of critical services for the community, Petersburg Borough has made structural revisions to its utility departments, reorganizing responsibilities and reverting to a former leadership model. This change was made as Utility Director Karl Hagerman -who has overseen the borough's power, water, and sewer departments since 2018- plans to retire in 2026. In the past, the Public Works Director managed the water, sewer, roads, sanitation and motor pool...
A ballot measure that could repeal Alaska’s ranked choice election system is headed to a vote in November, the Alaska Supreme Court confirmed Thursday. In a brief order, the court’s five members upheld a lower court decision that certified Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal the laws that created the state’s ranked choice general election and open primary election. The order came shortly after justices heard oral arguments in an appeal claiming that the Alaska Division of Elections improperly certified the measure. “Today the Court quickly... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly has taken a stance against the potential listing of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Assembly members voted unanimously to send a letter of opposition to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in response to a petition from the Wild Fish Conservancy, an environmental group based in Washington state, which requested the ESA listing and designation of critical habitat of any GOA...
A bill aimed at attracting and keeping quality teachers in Alaska classrooms became law on Monday without Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature. The law’s changes to current education policy are threefold: It eliminates a state limit on experience-based compensation for teachers, allows retired teachers to serve as long-term substitutes and provides financial incentives for current teachers to seek certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka and a former teacher, sponsored the bill, whi... Full story
Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom is withdrawing from the race for the state's lone U.S. House seat, she announced Friday via social media. With most votes counted, Dahlstrom is expected to finish third in the state's top-four primary election, behind Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola and fellow Republican challenger Nick Begich. Her withdrawal means the expected No. 4 finisher, Republican Matt Salisbury, will likely advance to the general election alongside Begich and Peltola, as would... Full story
As the new owners of Tides Inn hotel and Highliner Car Rental, Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) is now in the local hospitality business. "My sisters and I are very pleased with the conclusion of the sale of the Tides Inn and Highliner Car Rental to the Petersburg Indian Association," Dave Ohmer shared in a written statement. "The Ohmer Family started doing business in Petersburg in 1916, and it is wonderful to now be selling the Tides Inn and Highliner to an organization whose families were...
A three-judge panel at 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower-court decision that could have temporarily halted troll fishing for salmon in Southeast Alaska. The appellate court decision, announced Friday, clears the way for the region’s troll fishery to continue. It had been threatened by a lawsuit from the Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy, an environmental group. The group filed suit in 2020, arguing that National Marine Fisheries Service rules applied to the fishery were inadequate when it came to protecting endangere... Full story
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola received more than half of the votes in primary results released Tuesday night, well ahead of Republican challengers, businessman Nick Begich III and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. With 387 of 403 precincts reporting through 1 a.m. on Wednesday, the incumbent Peltola had received 50.4% of the votes counted. She was running well ahead of her 36.8% share of the vote in the 2022 primary, which was held the same day as the special election she won to fill the seat left vacant by the death of 49-year Congressman Don... Full story
The certified negotiated agreement between the Associated Teachers of Petersburg (ATP) and Petersburg School District is now official. The contract will serve for the next three years. The contract was ratified by ATP in summer, after the borough funded the district to the maximum allowable cap and the legislature's one-time funding survived the veto pen. With the conditions met, the school board approved the agreement at their meeting Aug. 13. "It's a relief to know that our negotiations have...
Petersburg students return to class this Tuesday, and students and families will experience some changes to Petersburg School District policies this academic year. The local school board reviews the student handbooks for Stedman Elementary School, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School every year and makes updates as deemed necessary. Language in the Stedman handbook about dress code was added to include a "three-finger rule" for tank tops to advise the width of sleeves should be about...
The filing window for candidacy in the 2024 Petersburg Borough Municipal Election officially closed Tuesday afternoon. A total of 14 open seats are up for election this fall, each as a three-year term. The race for Petersburg Borough Assembly is contested, with five people running for the two open seats. Incumbents Bob Lynn and Thomas Fine-Walsh are running for reelection. And James Valentine, Marc Martinsen, and Tony Vinson have joined the contest for the two assembly seats. The race for...
The sound of plucked strings and women's voices singing in unison could be heard at the outdoor Market in Petersburg on Sat. Aug. 17. The performers were a six-person ensemble known as the Uke'a Ladies. The group formed last summer thanks to music lessons offered at Petersburg's music store Bearing Song and Gifts. "I was advertising that I wanted to do a ukulele drop-in group, and [Danielle MacPhee] was my first person to come in for the ukulele class," said Sarah Hofstetter, owner of Bearing...
A sitka spruce from the Wrangell Ranger District was selected to represent Alaska as the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree. "This is the first time the Capitol Christmas tree has come from the Tongass National Forest," Public Affairs and Partnerships staff officer Paul Robbins Jr. told the Pilot in an email. According to Robbins Jr., the tree will be transported over 900 miles by sea and 2,899-mile cross country to Washington D.C. Alaskans have been asked to provide over 10,000 handmade...
A power outage occurred downtown Tuesday morning when an "elbow" near Petersburg Medical Center faulted. The elbow that was damaged is a component used to connect and disconnect a circuit to the town's electrical system. PMPL employees replaced the elbow and restored power in about 70 minutes. Located next to PMC, it was an elbow that had been in service for decades. Utility Director Karl Hagerman noted that it "must have had a crack in it or some other issue as it made a circuit ... and caused...
Applications for a federal energy efficiency grant for small businesses are open through the end of September, and Rural Alaska Community Action Program, an Anchorage-based non-profit, can help applicants, RurAL CAP Energy Development Specialist Shae Bowman told listeners at Wednesday’s virtual Sitka Chamber of Commerce meeting. The grant in question is the Rural Energy for America Program, REAP, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and aimed at rural communities. The grant offers assistance for the installation of renewable e...
Local trollers and regional fisheries advocates expressed relief today following Friday’s 9th Circuit Court decision to overturn a U.S. District Court ruling that threatened to shut down Southeast Chinook troll fisheries. “Great news,” Alaska Trollers Association president Matt Donohoe said in a brief text while out fishing. “I’m really grateful that the 9th Circuit understood that WFC’s serial litigation was absurd and ruled in Alaska’s favor.” Jeff Farvour, a Sitka based commercial fisherman and board member of the Sitka-based Ala...
Be it boating safety classes, courtesy vessel inspections, maritime observation missions or last-minute substituting for chefs on Coast Guard Cutters, members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary provide support to Coast Guard units and promote boating safety in local communities. And now, the Auxiliary in Petersburg will stand up a local Flotilla after years operating as a detachment. The Coast Guard Auxiliary has about 20,000 volunteers nationwide - about 225 in Alaska, which is District 17 for...
Months after Petersburg Close-Up students met with her staffers in Washington D.C., Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola took a tour of the Petersburg Medical Center facilities during her first visit to Petersburg. Also having visited Juneau, Sitka, Metlakatla, Ketchikan, and Wrangell with her reelection campaign staff, Rep. Peltola was on a "whistle stop through Southeast Alaska during the sunniest week of the year," she said with a smile. On a tour of the current Petersburg Medical Center building, Rep....
Fish and deer carcasses, propane bottles, and glass, all of these nonrecyclable items have shown up in the Petersburg Borough Sanitation Department's comingled recycling bins. Commingled means customers' recyclable materials don't need to be sorted into plastic, aluminum, paper, etc. However, the recycling must be clean and free of food and debris. Glass is not recyclable in Petersburg. But there are glass drop-off locations for the public at the baler and at Public Works. "At 303 South 2nd Stre...
Jill Lenhard moved to Ketchikan last August to take a teaching job at Ketchikan High School, but she – and her husband, music teacher Matt Lenhard – both got caught up in this year's teacher layoffs that impacted public school districts across the state. Fortunately for Petersburg, this meant the perfect candidate was unexpectedly available to fill a new teaching vacancy at Mitkof Middle School. Lenhard had spent over 20 years in Petersburg as a vital component of the school district's Eng...
Up to $83 million in federal funds have been approved for small business loans to be offered through a consortium of Alaska tribes. Announced last Tuesday, the funds are part of the U.S. Treasury’s broader effort to support tribal economies, with up to $415 million being funneled into developing the economies of 220 tribes, according to a Treasury news release. Of that group, 125 tribes make up the consortium from Alaska. “These funds will serve some of the most rural populations in the United States, creating jobs and expanding capital acc... Full story
The annual Rally for Cancer Care Golf tournament, also known as Fun and Frolic, was held Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Muskeg Meadows, in Wrangell. This year Desi Burrell and 39 other women from Petersburg went to Wrangell to participate in the annual event. This isn't your normal golf tournament; no score is kept and no skill is required by participants. "It keeps getting better every year," Burrell said. "If you've never golfed in your life, you could still have a really good time. There w...
At the height of the food stamp backlog last November, pro bono attorneys and other volunteers at Alaska Legal Services got more than 600 requests in one month from Alaskans seeking a fair hearing to get their overdue food benefits. So the 97 requests that came in this July didn’t feel like anything the group couldn’t handle, said Leigh Dickey, the nonprofit’s advocacy director. But the number is still alarming, she said, and it’s double last month’s requests. Dickey said the state’s Division of Public Assistance is still dogged by the same pr... Full story
Forty-three people spent the night in Juneau's emergency shelter at Floyd Dryden Middle School on Monday night as a record-high flood from the Mendenhall Glacier inundated homes. Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the total number of people who evacuated their homes is likely several times that; shelters are usually a last resort for people who cannot stay with family, friends or in a hotel. "You can imagine how hard it would be to wake up with water in your house, not expecting there to be... Full story
After nearly two years of litigation, the public records-related lawsuit filed by Don Koenigs against the Petersburg Borough has reached its conclusion. On June 21, 2024 the Superior Court for the State of Alaska ordered the borough to release around 200 pages of records related to the complaint made by Petersburg's chief of police against two borough assembly members. In March 2022, Petersburg Police Chief Jim Kerr filed a complaint with the borough's HR director which included a five-page time...
