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The state government is taking aim at eliminating one of the most common barriers for people who want to open child care centers in remote communities: The state requirement for a special internet connection called a “static IP address.” Every device connected to has its own Internet Protocol, or IP, address. While most device addresses can change, static IP addresses don’t. They can be costly and hard to get in remote parts of Alaska where internet access is a known challenge. Would-be child care providers in remote parts of Alaska have said...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state board of education last Wednesday delayed action on a proposal that would bar transgender girls from participating on high school girls’ athletic teams in Alaska, with several board members saying they wanted more time to consider the issue. Opponents of the proposal called it discriminatory and unconstitutional and said it would likely lead to litigation. Supporters, including Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, said it is needed to ensure fairness in girls’ sports. The board heard more than 2 1/2 hours of publi...
Telecommunications company GCI will end its longtime email service next year, a move that will force customers to transition to new email providers. Spokespeople with GCI, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company, said the service will end sometime in mid-2024. At that point, customers will no longer be able to access or use their gci.net account, according to a draft fact page posted online. “We will provide our customers formal notice at least six months in advance of email deactivation deadline,” GCI spokeswoman Heather Handyside said...
James Kerr v. Borough of Petersburg has been scheduled for a six-day jury trial in the Juneau Superior Court beginning on March 18, 2024, according to court records obtained by the Pilot. Petersburg Police Department Chief Jim Kerr, through counsel, demanded a jury trial on all claims in the case in a request filed in the court last December. Kerr is suing the Petersburg Borough for allegedly defaming him and portraying him in a false light in a statement released by the borough in response to a public records request filed by KFSK last year. T...
After just barely falling short of his goal last year, Andrew Simmonds managed to complete a seven-mile swim across Frederick Sound on July 15. Simmonds-a physical therapist at the Petersburg Medical Center-started his crossing at Petersburg's Sandy Beach at 7:01 a.m. His first steps into the water marked the beginning of what would become a seven-hour long battle that pushed him to his limits. However, the challenge truly began for Simmonds when he arrived in Petersburg back in October 2021...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a resolution at its July 17 meeting to extend utility connections to three residentially-zoned borough-owned lots. The decision comes as the borough continues to address the ongoing housing crisis in Petersburg in a bid to make the lots more affordable for a possible future sale. The three parcels that will see the utility connection stubs installed include 1200 Lake Street, 200 Aaslaug Street, and a 8,862 square foot lot near Hungry Point. The assembly approved the use of up to $100,000 from...
Four interpretive signs detailing the cultural and natural history of Sandy Beach are set to be installed at the park within the next year. The signs will describe four themes of Indigenous people's presence at Sandy beach-arrival, fish traps, petroglyphs, and shell midden. "It's a dream," PIA Tribal Council Member Brenda Norheim said. "Something that we have been talking about for...at least the last 10 years of being able to have more of a presence in our community overall and with telling...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to implement a new pay schedule for the borough’s 14 department heads based on their longevity during last week’s meeting. The assembly voted 4-1 in favor of the change, which will cost approximately $139,000, with Assembly Member Donna Marsh opposed. The new schedule mirrors the longevity pay schedule that was introduced for borough employees as part of the recently approved collective bargaining agreement between the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association and the borough. The change aims to incentiviz...
WRANGELL – When people choose to live in a remote area, they give up certain things like grocery stores, movie theaters and, probably most importantly, pizza deliveries. That's why residents of Port Protection were thrilled when Nic Martin and Brian Schwartz showed up on July 15 with 18 pizzas from Nic's Place pizzeria. Not only was it a chance to expand the reach of Nic's Place and bring some happiness to the community on the north end of Prince of Wales Island about 47 nautical miles west of W...
The Washington State Ferries system still has not returned to its full pre-pandemic schedule, coming up short due to fewer riders, an inability to recruit, hire and train onboard crew, high rates of retirements and resignations, and a “lack of vessels due to unanticipated breakdowns and an aging fleet.” Some sailings have been canceled for lack of crew, and a few routes are running at reduced service. It sounds a lot like the Alaska Marine Highway System. The Washington state system, which has been around since 1951, 12 years older than Alaska...
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education and the White House announced Friday that more than 800,000 federal student loan borrowers will have their remaining debt wiped out. The $39 billion in debt relief will come through fixes to mismanagement of the agency’s income-driven repayment plans. Many long-time borrowers, including those who had been making payments for 20 years or more, were denied relief they were eligible for under the repayment plans. Qualified payments that were made were not accounted for. “For far too long, borrowers fell...
WRANGELL — Want to golf for a good cause? The WMC Foundation and SEARHC are offering the women of the community an opportunity to do just that at the Rally for Cancer Care fundraiser at Muskeg Meadows on Aug. 5. The event will feature a luncheon, beverages, prizes, a silent auction and a “fun and frolic” golf tournament — a non-scored, no-skills-necessary take on the game. The tournament is ladies only, but organizer Patty Gilbert said she “wouldn’t mind men attending” the lunch, games and auction. The fundraiser will support the WMC Foundatio...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly, acting as the board of adjustment, approved an application for a preliminary plat and vacation of certain rights-of-way at the future site of the new hospital on Monday, which had previously been denied by the Planning Commission. The Petersburg Medical Center appealed the decision after the Planning Commission voted against the application, claiming that the commission's decision was made in error, will have an adverse effect, and should be modified. The...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously on Monday to renew its contract with Republic Services for solid waste transportation and disposal, which includes new terms that significantly raise service fees and could require the borough to secure its own fleet of shipping containers down the road. The new agreement, which goes into effect on Sept. 1, will increase the borough’s base rate for transport and disposal of municipal solid waste from $128.76 to $172.86 per ton, an approximately 34% bump. Public Works Director Chris Cotta w...
The Petersburg Medical Center Foundation is inviting all members of the community to bike or kayak as part of the annual Pedal/Paddle Battle this year on Saturday, July 29. The course will take participants from Scow Bay to Sandy Beach while contributions raised by the event will support continuing education for PMC staff and go toward scholarships for Petersburg High School seniors. "We were really successful last year, we had about 75 participants, and a lot of families participated. Anybody...
Before becoming one of Petersburg's favorite school bus drivers Hoopie Davidson started making a chess set, but she put that project on hold for thirty-seven years to better focus on her new job and on raising her family. After retiring in 2020 she turned her attention back to the project that sparked her imagination so many years ago and now she's glowing with the satisfaction of finally completing her passion project. "This is my masterpiece," Davidson says, gesturing to the thirty-four inch... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly recognized Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department staff and volunteers during its meeting on Monday for their efforts to fight the fire that ravaged the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church on July 6. The fire, which was ruled an accident and was the result of maintenance work, raged for 10 hours, covering Petersburg in smoke and warranting response efforts from the PVFD, EMS, Search and Rescue, the Petersburg Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S....
Proposed ballot measures would raise Alaska minimum wage, add mandatory paid sick leave, as well as limit campaign contributions and state spending on party candidate nominations. The Alaska Division of Elections received the proposals last week. One proposed ballot measure would make a series of changes to state labor laws. It would raise the hourly minimum wage — currently $10.85 — to $13 in July 2025, $14 in July 2026 and $15 in July 2027, and annually according to inflation after that. It would require employers with 15 or more employees to... Full story
The spendable portion of the Alaska Permanent Fund is dwindling and could be exhausted entirely within three years, fund leaders were told during a regular quarterly meeting on Wednesday, July 12, in Anchorage. Deven Mitchell, CEO of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., presented the results of limited modeling that estimates the fund’s performance over the next three years. Under the “low” scenario, the fund would be unable to pay for state services or dividends by summer 2026. The “mid” scenario calls for the spendable portion of the fund to b... Full story
After the past few years when resignations and retirements far outpaced new hires, the Alaska Marine Highway System was able to hire as many new onboard crew as it lost in the first six months of this year. It showed a net gain of two workers, adding 47 and losing 45, though most of the new hires were in entry-level jobs and not the critical experienced positions that remain vacant. The lack of enough crew to fully staff the state ferries has been a problem, keeping the Kennicott tied up this summer and creating spot shortages the past couple...
The Haines Borough is challenging the U.S. government’s official count of its population, saying the Census Bureau undercounted the town’s population by about 20%. The money threatens millions of dollars of federal funding over the next decade. The 2020 Census reported Haines’ population as 2080, down from 2,508 10 years earlier. That immediately raised red flags for borough officials. “If we had lost almost 500 people, you would feel it in our town,” said Haines Borough clerk Alekka Fullerton. “You would see it in empty houses, in schools, an...
Supporters of Alaska’s ranked choice voting system are again alleging that opponents of the system are violating state campaign law. On Monday, Alaskans for Better Elections filed a complaint against former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, a nonprofit that she operates, and Alaskans for Honest Elections, which is campaigning to repeal ranked choice voting in Alaska. The complaint alleges that Tshibaka and her nonprofit, Preserve Democracy, have been lobbying and campaigning without registering with the commission or s... Full story
The St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church caught fire last Thursday, leaving much of the building in ruins and covering Petersburg in smoke. According to a statement from Fire Marshal Ryan Welde, the fire has been ruled accidental in nature and was a result of maintenance work. The fire originated at ground level on the exterior of the building facing Dolphin Street. It then traveled up the wall via rigid foam insulation located behind the vinyl siding and continued to spread into the eaves... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a bid award for a project that would replace approximately 200 feet of sewer lines beneath the Community Center during its July 3 meeting. The project will close half of the Community Center while the floor is ripped up and the main sewer line and lateral lines are replaced. The Community Center has been experiencing sewer problems for the last couple of years, such as toilets not flushing and water fountains draining onto the floor,...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Backers of an effort to repeal Alaska’s ranked choice voting system violated campaign finance rules and obscured the source of their funding, including forming a church that could have allowed donors to gain tax advantages for their contributions while skirting disclosure mandates, a complaint alleges. The complaint was filed by Alaskans for Better Elections, which was behind the successful 2020 ballot measure that replaced party primaries with open primaries and instituted ranked choice voting for general ele...
