Sorted by date Results 4941 - 4965 of 5553
JUNEAU (AP) — Celebrity Cruises announced Tuesday it was cancelling the remainder of a seven-night cruise to Alaska, plus four additional cruises, after mechanical issues forced a ship carrying more than 3,100 passengers and crew members to return to port in Ketchikan. The cruise line said in a statement that passengers on the current cruise on its Millennium ship would receive refunds of their cruise fares and chartered air travel home. It also said it was offering future cruise certificates for 100 percent of the fare paid for this cruise. T...
Three crewmembers of the 75-foot tender Pacific Queen are safe after they abandoned ship when the vessel began experiencing uncontrollable flooding early Wednesday morning near Lung Island. John Klingenberg, U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist, said the crew issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast, or UMIB, which is a location signal that makes mariners in the area aware of the situation. The crew then loaded aboard a life raft. Another vessel eventually arrived at the scene. Klingenberg said the Windham Bay rescued the Pacific... Full story
Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen wrote a letter to Senator Mark Begich on behalf of the borough reinforcing the need for the U.S. Coast Guard’s ANACAPA’s continued operation. This after the USCGC announced its plan for phasing out of 110-foot vessels like the ANACAPA in favor of new 154-foot fast response cutters, or FRC. Plans call for the purchase of 58 FRCs during the next several years. Jensen’s letter asked questions regarding how much longer the ANACAPA would remain in Petersburg and wheth...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A big test has never looked so small. Swimming in a pair of plastic tanks within the first floor of the Kodiak Fisheries Research Center are 13,000 red king crab, each no bigger than half a pinky fingernail. In three weeks, the first of these crab will be released into the ocean, marking the first time hatchery-raised Alaska king crab have been introduced into the wild, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reports. “It's certainly an exciting step; I'm waiting with bated breath to see what happens,” said Ginny Eckert, associate profess...
WRANGELL — A fire destroyed the Allen mill site on Tuesday, July 30, leaving Mike Allen’s business venture a smoking heap of twisted metal and burnt lumber – and saw the largest response from the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department in recent memory. According to WVFD Fire Chief Tim Buness the fire began in the early afternoon and saw a quick response given the distance to the fire from the Zimovia substation and the Fire Hall. “We received the call at 2:08 p.m. and twelve minutes later the fir...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Permanent Fund posted its highest year-ending balance, with a preliminary value of $44.9 billion. While the fund has reached higher levels during the year — its unaudited value as of Thursday was $46.3 billion — it has never ended a fiscal year so strongly, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. CEO Michael Burns said. “This is a good year,” he said Monday. The fund, created to share Alaska's oil wealth with future generations, reported an average return of 10.5 percent for the year ending June 30, with all its asset classes yield...
The cable access show is featuring former Petersburg resident Boaz Johnson on its program in connection with the murder of his girlfriend Brittany Royal. According to the program’s website, Johnson is “considered dangerous” and “wanted in a murder investigation.” Fishermen discovered Royal’s body off the Kalapana coast on May 28 of this year.A medical examiner determined she died from strangulation. Johnson and Royal had been camping the day before her body was found. No one has heard from Johnson since then. According to Chris Loo, Hawai’i Pol...
Petersburg residents voiced their concerns to federal and state officials regarding the Kake Access Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS. The four-page document details the need for increased transportation options for Kake residents. According to the EIS, the purpose of the project is threefold. One goal is to improve travel opportunities between Kake and a regional hub. Another is to provide greater mobility for its residents. And finally, according to the document, better access would...
JUNEAU (AP) — Two organizations have teamed up to spur business development in southeast Alaska by hosting a competition. Haa Aaní, LLC, and the Nature Conversancy are combining forces to fund a $500,000 business plan contest, CoastAlaska reported. The Path to Prosperity project is aimed at, but not limited to, smaller communities. “Our focus has to be on providing opportunities for families and residents to remain in these rural communities,” Russell Dick, president and CEO of Haa Aaní, LLC, a subsidiary of the Juneau-based Sealaska regiona...
JUNEAU (AP) — New District Attorney James Scott says not to expect any big, sweeping changes from the office, but there is a new mission statement. It's short, simple and penned by Martha Penrose, an 83-year-old local woman and customer service adviser who helped Scott set up his account at Alaska Electric Light & Power. “‘May the bad guys pay and hopefully learn from their mistakes. May the good guys keep being good and show society the value of a life well lived,’” Scott quoted her as saying in a recent interview at his office in the Dimon...
SITKA — Half a century of Sitka history in a 61-foot steel hull is being auctioned off by the U.S. Forest Service. The M/V Sitka Ranger, which entered service in 1959 as the floating presence of the Forest Service in the Tongass National Forest, is on the auction block. Roy Mitchell, deputy regional fleet manager for the Forest Service in Anchorage, said the Sitka Ranger and its sister ship the M/V Tongass Ranger are being auctioned off because there’s no longer enough field work in the cou...
(ADN) — The Federal Communications Commission has approved plans by GCI and Alaska Communications to combine their wireless holdings in a joint venture, while continuing to compete in retail sales, to better compete against two giants in the industry, AT&T and Verizon. The companies intend to cut capital expenditures by $15 million and operating expenses by an equal amount, according to the FCC review of their application. They would reduce the total number of cell sites from 450 to about 300 and scale back plans for new tower sites. The new v...
Prior to the first day of participation in official practices, all students must have a current physical on file with the Activities/Athletics office. Forms can be found online at www.pcsd.us under the activities/athletics page. Athletic Packets are available online at www.pcsd.us. First Day of Cross Country Practice is Aug. 5. First day of swimming practice and volleyball practice is Aug. 12. There will be volleyball open gyms July 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31, Aug. 5, 6 and 7 from 7 -8:30 p.m. For Alternative Education Students/Parents, Home...
JUNEAU (AP) — The state is looking at whether the proposed merger of two shipping companies would constitute a monopoly in southeast Alaska and violate antitrust laws, the attorney general’s office said. The office is studying the proposed purchase of Northland Services by Lynden Inc., the parent company of Alaska Marine Lines. Northland Services is a tug and barge carrier providing service between Alaska, Seattle and Hawaii. Senior Assistant Attorney General Ed Sniffen said that while the companies operate throughout Alaska, it’s the porti...
(CBC) The British Columbia provincial government has sent firefighters to help with fires in Yukon that have scorched more than 1,300 square kilometres this summer – and have sent smoke as far west as the Panhandle of Southeast Alaska. One of the most dangerous areas is near the village of Carmacks where, according to Yukon Wildland Fire Management, 15 fires have burned through more than 110 square kilometres. The danger rating is listed as extreme, the highest rating, which means the fires are spreading extremely fast for extended periods. B.C...
Alaska Airlines is raising its fee for checking a suitcase to $25, bringing it in line with most major airlines. For tickets purchased on or after Oct. 30, the Seattle-based airline will charge passengers $25 each for the first and second checked bags. Additional bags will cost $75. Alaska currently charges $20 per bag for the first three suitcases. The airline will keep its unique baggage service guarantee. If a passenger’s bags are not at the baggage claim area within 20 minutes of the plane parking at the gate, Alaska will give them a $20 d...
The Planning and Zoning Commission met in regular session on Tuesday and voted to recommend the sale of three, undeveloped, borough-owned lots. The Hungry Point lots are adjacent to each other and butt-up against property currently owned by John Swanson. Swanson appeared before the Commission with a presentation and asked for the properties to be allowed to be sold either individually, or combined. “Over the last 25 years the trees have grown right, in line with the sun. And especially in the winter months, and in fall and spring, [the t...
The U.S. Coast Guard terminated the voyages of five commercial fishing vessels for safety violations in Southeast Alaska last week. Coast Guard Station Ketchikan boarding teams terminated the voyages of the vessels following at-sea commercial fishing vessel safety inspections – where a variety of safety violations were identified. All five vessel crews were required to return to port in Petersburg and correct the deficiencies by procuring the proper equipment and having a qualified Coast Guard examiner clear the offense before getting u...
JUNEAU (AP) — The state of Alaska on Tuesday proposed an exploration plan aimed at determining the oil and gas potential in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It comes just over a week after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, in a letter to Gov. Sean Parnell, said a seismic exploration proposal suggested by the state in May is prohibited under federal law and would require congressional authorization. She also reiterated the Obama administration's opposition to allowing drilling on the coastal plain of the refuge. State Natural Resources C...
The Tongass National Forest issued its Record of Decision and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Big Thorne Project last week. The decision allows for the harvest of 148.9 million board feet from approximately 6,186 acres of old-growth and 2,299 acres of young-growth near Thorne Bay and Coffman Cove on Prince of Wales Island within the Thorne Bay Ranger District. According to Tongass National Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole, the U.S. Forest Service believes the action could help stabilize the timber industry in Southeast Alaska as the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting the disposal of fish scraps in the harbors during its regular meeting Monday afternoon. This ordinance is only in its first reading and there will be two other opportunities to amend or reject it in the future. This ordinance reflects the Borough's Transition Plan requirement for harbor and port services to be provided on an area wide basis. The ordinance is a rewrite of the current City of Petersburg ordinance. The new ordinance sets forth sections of the ordinance... Full story
On Tuesday, June 4 a Pacific Wings deHavilland Beaver crashed into mountainous, tree-covered terrain about 14 miles east of Petersburg resulting in the death of one of the passengers. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been investigating the crash but are unable to continue at this time until the aircraft is recovered. “We are at a standstill right now,” NTSB Chief Clint Johnson said. “We have conditionally released the wreckage to the insurance company in order for it to be removed.” According to Johnson, a helic...
JUNEAU (AP) — The National Weather Service says temperatures across Alaska last month were among the warmest in decades. Barrow and King Salmon saw their warmest June since 1940, while it was the second warmest June since 1940 in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks and Kodiak. Several communities broke record highs for June 16, with the temp as high as 96 degrees in Talkeetna that day. Rick Thoman is the climate science and services manager for the weather service in Alaska. He says it's unusual for so much of Alaska to be affected by the same w...
