Sorted by date Results 426 - 450 of 6666
The borough’s human resources department provided a progress report about the municipality’s newly implemented safety measures during the Borough Assembly Meeting Nov. 6. In September, Alaska Public Entity Insurance (APEI) representatives presented a safety review of the Petersburg Borough during a regular assembly meeting. Assembly members and human resources staff left that meeting with actionable recommendations to address safety concerns within the borough. Part of that was the establishment of a formal Borough Safety Committee. Becky Reg...
In the past three weeks, four downtown Petersburg businesses have reported burglaries. The Petersburg Police Department confirmed all four incidents are the subject of active investigations. The Blomster Hus flower shop was the most recent incident, with staff arriving Monday morning this week to find the cash register had been pried open by a burglar over the weekend. A week earlier, security cameras captured footage of a burglar searching for cash after breaking into the Petersburg Moose Lodge. “Security camera footage from the Moose Lodge h...
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) named Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter as Alaska's 2023 "Community Star." Hofstetter is being recognized by the national organization for his dedication to enhancing rural healthcare and addressing the health needs of the Petersburg community through wellness and prevention activities, education, collaborative partnerships, and accessible at-home care. "Phil and PMC have advanced local healthcare through numerous...
The Petersburg Borough and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) agreed to increase wages for union workers in the most recent ratified contract approved by the Petersburg Borough Assembly on Nov. 6. The Petersburg Municipal Power & Light department (PMPL) has struggled for over a year to hire an Electrician/Operator and a Journeyman Lineman, which burdens the few workers that are there. Sam Caulum spoke at the Nov. 6 borough assembly meeting, representing himself and a majority of IBEW members at PMPL. He said the prolonged...
WRANGELL — In a livestreamed lecture sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute, ethnohistorian Zachary Jones presented on the U.S. military’s 19th century attacks on the Tlingit villages of Kaachxhaan.áak’w, Kéex’ Kwáan and Xutsnoowú Kwáan — present-day Wrangell, Kake and Angoon. Though the attacks occurred over 150 years ago, their effects are still felt by Tlingit communities today, Jones said, and community leaders are still seeking restitution. In 1867, the U.S. government paid Russia $7.2 million — less than two cents per acre — for the t...
WRANGELL — Members of the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee are concerned about the future of commercial salmon fishing as Alaska’s tourism industry continues to expand, bringing in more non-resident fishers on charter trips. The advisory committee supports amending state regulation to prevent the Southeast sport fishery from exceeding its 20% share of the Pacific Salmon Commission’s annual harvest ceiling for king salmon. The committee voted Nov. 7 to support a proposal calling for tighter state regulation of the charter catch and q...
The company trying to build a huge copper and gold mine in the salmon-rich Bristol Bay will keep fighting for the project, despite a decision by the federal government to keep the proposed development site off-limits to large-scale metals mining. John Shively, chief executive officer of the Pebble Limited Partnership, made that vow in a presentation at the Alaska Miners Association annual convention in Anchorage. He said the Pebble mine had the potential to transform the economy and improve lives in the rural Bristol Bay region, just as he... Full story
After recent years of record or near-record runs and harvests, Bristol Bay sockeye salmon numbers are expected to return to more average levels next year, according to state biologists. The 2024 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run is expected to total 39 million fish, with a predicted range between about 25 million and 53 million fish, according to a preliminary forecast released Friday by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That is 35% lower than the average over the past 10 years but 6% higher than the long-term average for Bristol Bay, the... Full story
An investigation by the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs task force (SEACAD) led to the indictment and arrest of six Petersburg residents last week. A press release from the Juneau Police Department reported that a Juneau Grand Jury indicted Petersburg residents Palmer Thomassen Jr., Gabriel Volk, Dazzlin Frentz, Edward Rayborn, Amanda Loucks, and Austin Strickland on Oct. 26, 2023 for various counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the Second and in the Third Degree....
During a regular meeting on Nov. 6, the Petersburg Borough Assembly passed a resolution in its first reading to approve an application for Skylark Park LLC to purchase borough land. The purchase includes five lots on Odin Street, of Skylark II Subdivision, and one parcel, Government Lot 21, near Skylark Way. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the assembly approve the application during the commission's most recent meeting on Oct. 10. Skylark LLC requests to purchase the six...
From atop the helicopter pad at Five Finger Lighthouse station, visitors experience a nearly unobstructed 360-degree vista of Alaska's Inside Passage. The air is rich with the scent of saltwater, the calls of the island's abundant birdlife, and echoes of humpback whales breathing and breaching in Stephens Passage throughout the summer feeding season. A narrow path leads between the station's 120-year-old boat house and carpenter shop and gently traverses the less-than-three-acre island's green... Full story
After a yearlong public process, the U.S. Forest Service has announced eight potential sites for new recreational cabins in the Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger Districts. After considering the environmental impacts and accessibility of hundreds of sites suggested by members of the public or identified by staff, the district picked the ones that are most likely to see substantial traffic and compete for federal funding, and announced them in a draft decision published Thursday, Oct. 19. There are...
The final report of the Petersburg Borough Housing Needs Assessment was completed on Sept. 30. In January of this year, the Borough Assembly contracted consulting firm Agnew::Beck to conduct this assessment and determine the housing needs in Petersburg, at an estimated cost of about $55,000 with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The assessment took place from February through September. Information was gathered from 366 community survey responses —about 10 percent of the population, which the project team considered a good response r...
Staff for Gov. Mike Dunleavy quashed the publication of a new Department of Labor and Workforce Development report examining the competitiveness of teacher pay in Alaska, an act that current and former staff say could damage the apolitical reputation of the division that publishes state economic data. “This is data that typically is available to the public, and it’s never good to suppress good, objective data,” said Neal Fried, who retired in July after almost 45 years as an economist with the department. The report, which had been the cover... Full story
The first thing to know about the mariculture industry in Alaska is how much money and effort are going into making it a major economic driver for years to come. The second thing is that, aside from oysters, it isn’t profitable — yet. That’s kind of the point. A collective $110 million in public investment for mariculture in Alaska is flowing into the state, a federal Build Back Better wager based on the core assets of the region, predictions about future demand — particularly for kelp — and the general need for more sustainable food sources....
It took a village to save a juvenile whale earlier this month, one that involved collaboration between people and agencies, and extended as far as a NOAA expert in Maui. That's the story of "SEAK-5490," a juvenile humpback whale who was successfully freed from crab fishing lines near Gustavus earlier this month. The effort included local residents who saw the humpback in distress and reported it, the owner of the fishing gear who provided information needed for the rescue, people on the Glacier...
During a virtual public open house last Tuesday evening, Alaska Marine Highway System Marine Director Craig Tornga gave a brief update on the status of the agency's capital improvements as well as its operating challenges. Operating challenges "Crewing is still a big struggle for us," Tornga said. The system operated six ferries all summer, though it had hoped it would be able to recruit enough crew to run the Kennicott as a seventh vessel. But "we have crews for about five and a half (ferries). There is a large shortage across the national...
The board in charge of Alaska’s retirement system for public employees has recommended the closure of its commonly used managed accounts program after an independent review found workers were being charged high fees and receiving lower-than-expected returns. Managed accounts cover more than 10,000 of the 122,000-plus accounts in Alaska’s state employee retirement system and were the default option when the state switched from a pension-style retirement system to its current 401(k)-like approach in 2006. Many of those employees are only now dis... Full story
Representative Rebecca Himschoot will visit Petersburg November 8 – 11. She will host a Constituent Connection at Glacier Express from 9 – 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 9 and at the Salty Pantry from 7 – 9 a.m. on Friday, November 10. Please stop by and say hello. For more information, call (907) 465-3732....
Jaime Cabral, Dean of Students and Activity Director of Petersburg Middle/High School, recently received statewide recognition for his commitment to kids. Nominated by Katie Holmlund and Becca Madsen of Kinder Skog, Cabral rose to the top of 22 other nominations from across the state to become Petersburg's first ever recipient of this award. Earlier in the year, Holmlund and Madsen had been named Afterschool Superheroes by the Alaska Children's Trust. When the call for nominations came out for...
The air in town is crisp, leaves continue to fall and the mornings are turning frosty. Even with the bright sunshine seen in Petersburg this week, the season is certainly shifting. The transition of summer to winter brings more than a change in weather; seasonal industries shift, and the change prompts reflection. How did this summer go? Several of Petersburg's new tourism businesses look back on their 2023 season. VIKING TRAVEL James and Madeleine Valentine are the owners of Viking Travel, a...
Hunters harvested a total of 141 moose in the 2023 RM038 moose hunt, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This overall number is much higher than the 118 total in 2022 and exceeds the high 2021 harvest, as well. "This was a high for the RM038, 141 is a high. The previous high was 132 and it was in 2021," said ADF&G Wildlife Biologist Frank Robbins. The RM038 moose hunt began mid-September and ended October 15. Twelve of those 141 total moose were harvested illegally. Kupreanof...
PORTLAND, Ore. - An off-duty airline pilot riding in an extra cockpit seat on a Horizon Air flight said "I'm not OK" just before trying to cut the engines midflight and later told police he had recently taken psychedelic mushrooms as his mental health worsened, according to charging documents made public Tuesday. State prosecutors in Oregon filed 83 counts of attempted murder against Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, on Tuesday just before he appeared in court, with his attorney, N...
Petersburg will be one of four Alaska cities to host a performance by Lyric and Spirit, a performance ensemble comprised of three extraordinary vocalists from around the world who have joined together for an inaugural North American tour. They will take the stage in Wright Auditorium on Wednesday evening, Nov. 1. Lenna Bahule is a multidisciplinary artist raised and educated in Mapouto, Mozambique, now based in São Paulo, Brazil. As an educator and performer, she explores indigenous vocal...
