Sorted by date Results 5412 - 5436 of 5574
ANCHORAGE (AP) —Alaska redistricting is going to lead to some interesting Legislative races. By Friday afternoon, several incumbents in both parties faced primary election challengers, The Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday. Multiple Republicans will battle in six of the 19 Senate contests. In two districts, Democrats will meet in the primary. In the House, all 40 posts are up for election this year. Nearly half involve two or more Republicans, with Democrats meeting in five primaries. Many new candidates are running for office, i...
U.S. Senator Mark Begich-D had a busy Memorial Day weekend, but made a stop in Petersburg. While he was in town, Begich met with officials and toured several city facilities. “We got to see a lot of the facilities, the new facilities, also the old ones. We got to tour the police station, which is in desperate need of help to say the least,” he said during an interview at the Harbormaster’s office. Begich, 50, who is serving with Lisa Murkowski, said he was “unsure” if there would be any Federal...
The 31st annual Salmon Derby brought in over 300 fish ranging in weight from 8.1 to 45.6 pounds. The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce sponsored event took place over the Memorial Day weekend Friday, May 25 to Monday, May 28. First prize was $7,500 cash, a derby jacket and hat and free processing by Tonka Seafoods; second prize was $3,500 cash, a derby sweatshirt and hat and third prize was $2,750 cash and a derby sweatshirt and hat. Prizes will be awarded Thursday night (May 31) at 7 p.m. at the...
# Weight Name 1 45.6 Thomas Cumps 2 40 Jim Schramek 3 38.4 Scott Stafford 4 37.9 Holli Otness 5 36.7 Lawrence Fuller 6 36.7 Robert English 7 34.5 Robin Leekley 8 33.7 Timothy Broll 9 33.3 Ted Weisenburger 10 32.5 David Janzen, Jr. 11 32.2 Kenneth Madsen 12 30 John Spurr 13 29.8 Koby Pennington 14 29.6 Theresa Vick 15 28.9 Leonard Madsen 16 28.6 Robin Leekley 17 28.5 Pete Nilsen 18 28.4 Dan Vick 19 27.9 Brian Whitethorn 20 27.6 Wesley Malcom 21 27.3 Heather O'Neil 22 27.3 Merl Honma 23 26.8 Denny Heimdahl 24 26.7 Blaine Volk 25 26.6 Charles...
WRANGELL — With eight members of the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors facing recall in a June election, tensions were high among members of the board, supporters of the recall effort, and citizens of the borough at the directors’ most recent meeting at WMC. At the May 23 meeting, board member Jim Nelson inquired of CEO Noel Rea whether allegations of WMC losing as many as 10 beds if the hospital is forced to update to current ADA standards was a “scare tactic.” “I think when the (general obligation) bond question came up everyone...
The Borough Formation Hearing continues Thursday and Friday. As part of Wednesday’s proceedings (left to right) Larry Semmens - Third Judicial District, Lynn Chrystal - Chair at Large, and John Harrington - First Judicial District heard testimony from local fishermen regarding commercial fishing in the waters within the proposed Petersburg Borough boundaries....
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a house fire on 7th and Gjoa at 10:45 p.m. Sunday. “Upon arrival, over half of the structure was fully engulfed in flames,” Assistant Fire Chief David Berg said. Flames from the burning structure were threatening adjacent homes and time was of the essence. “It took us about an hour to darken down the building enough to enter the structure,” Berg said. A deluge gun, which is a truck mounted device capable of delivering hundreds of gallons...
The City Council on Monday voted to draft an ordinance adopting a new utility rate hike for water, wastewater and sewer services. An outside consultant presented a detailed analysis of the water, sewer, and sanitation systems financial forecast. Each year the city reviews revenues as part of its budget process, but with major capital projects looming on the horizon for wastewater, the Assistant Public Works director Chris Cotta said a more detailed analysis was necessary for a number of reasons. “One is that operating costs are expected to r...
Community members flocked on Saturday to the grand opening of the new fire hall. The recently completed volunteer fire department Station One was a $6.7 million Capital Fund project. The new facility replaces the older, smaller downtown location. “I was reflecting on the dreams we've had about having a facility that met the needs of the volunteer fire department here. I think it started in the 60s or something,” said Mayor Al Dwyer. “They even had a drawing, an artist rendering in 1978, when I s...
The 31st Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday morning at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. No tagged fish will be available for anglers this year however. Derby Committee member Doug Welde reported volunteers in as many as seven participating boats were unable to catch two King Salmon to tag on Wednesday morning near Frederick Point. The tagged fish could normally bring a derby angler a chance at $5,000 from Hammer and Wikan and the other could...
The Petersburg Community Foundation on Saturday awarded $7,000 in competitive grants to local organizations and a $5,000 discretionary grant to the new City Library. The announcements were made at a donor event held at Glorianne Wollen's home, amidst the busy Little Norway Festival weekend. Foundation board member Liz Cabrera made the announcements and handed out the checks for the third cycle of grant fund bequeathments. The recipients of the competitive grants include: $2,500 to the Clausen...
A divided Alaska Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered an interim redistricting plan due to the fast-approaching 2012 elections. This action prompted the Petersburg City Council to meet in an emergency session on Wednesday to decide the city’s next step in this on-going legal battle. This means the Redistricting board will have to go back to an earlier map until after the elections. This would put Petersburg back in Proclamation District 32 with downtown Juneau, Douglas, Tenakee Springs, Gustavus and Skagway. The district is currently represented b...
The Local Boundary Commission will hold a series of public meetings to discuss the proposed Petersburg City dissolution and Borough Incorporation. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 30 at 9 a.m. in Council Chambers and will be continued on Friday, June 1 at 3 p.m. in Council Chambers. The hearing and decisional meeting agendas are available from the LBC staff by calling Brent Williams at 907-269-4559, or Don Burrell at 907-269-4587, by emailing LBC@alaska.gov. All petitions are available for review at Petersburg City Hall, or...
On Monday, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell signed into law three budget bills for Fiscal Year 2013 appropriating an estimated $870 million for transportation. Among the budget items is the allocation of $40 million for the controversial Kake-Petersburg Road. Many residents from the cities of Petersburg and Kupreanof sounded off during the last City Council meeting. They asked for city action toward a line-item veto of the project. The council voted in favor of drafting a resolution, but there wasn’t enough time to send it out. Kupreanof Mayor D...
Let your inner-Norwegian out. The Little Norway Festival begins today. The annual event celebrates Syttende Mai, or May 17, the signing of Norway's Constitution in 1814. Petersburg has been formally celebrating the occasion since 1958. The celebration includes live music, food, traditional dance, art receptions, softball and the return of the Viking/Valkyrie jail. Activities run from Thursday to Sunday. “We are bringing back the classics,” said Little Norway Chair Holli Flint. “The Style Show,...
What's in a name? The Petersburg Economic Development Council (PEDC) hopes the name Petersburg will translate into increased tourism and economic growth thanks to new city branding. The PEDC, members of the Chamber of Commerce, and several city employees, gathered last week to see the latest artwork and slogans for a new city branding effort that is designed to entice visitors, businesses and new residents. The desire to create a Petersburg logo and slogan began about a decade ago, said PEDC...
The Petersburg School District Board unanimously approved the $8.7 million balanced budget Tuesday night. The budget calls for 78 percent of the funding to come from the state and foundation, 20 percent from city and the remaining 2 percent in local revenues comes from various grants and donations. The expenditures for next year have not changed much from FY12. The district is expected to spend 72 percent of its budget on instruction. The remaining budget goes toward heating, maintenance, landscaping, equipment and other costs. “To have a b...
The U.S. Forest Service continues to host a series of meetings with members of the community to discuss the possibilities of a stewardship contract in connection with the Tonka Timber sale. Forest Ranger Jason Anderson initiated, and is facilitating, the workshops to gain a better understanding of what the public wants. “It's just a chance to have some communication, discussion regarding a broad range of projects,” said Anderson. “A chance for people to have a creative dialogue about what they want from their landscape,” he added. The sale wi...
Petersburg High School was recently ranked by the publication US News and World Report, receiving a Bronze award for academic achievement and college preparedness. US News and World Report and the Washington D.C.-based American Institute compiled the high schools rankings for Research. More than U.S. 21,000 high schools were analyzed based on how well the school served the students, not only those who are college-bound, but also students who showed measurable academic progress across a wide...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Redistricting Board on Monday made what its executive director called significant changes to southeast Alaska's political boundaries in an effort to win court approval for the plan. Taylor Bickford said the board adopted new districts that pair state Reps. Cathy Munoz, R-Juneau, and Bill Thomas, R-Haines, together. Reps. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell, and Kyle Johansen, R-Ketchikan, who had previously been paired, would no longer be. Sens. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, and Albert Kookesh, D-Angoon, would remain paired. T...
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota has passed Alaska to become the second-leading oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas. State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms tells the Grand Forks Herald that North Dakota oil production in March averaged 575,490 barrels daily, another record. The crude is coming from a record 6,636 wells. Alaska saw its production fall to 567,481 barrels per day in March. North Dakota was the ninth-largest oil-producing state just six years ago, but the state's oil production has nearly quadrupled since...
PETERSBURG — The Alaska Marine Highway ferry Matanuska crashed into the face of the Ocean Beauty Seafoods dock in Petersburg at 1:00 p.m. Monday. The M/V Matanuska was negotiating a turn in Wrangell Narrows prior to the accident as it prepared to dock at the Petersburg ferry terminal on its southbound trip. Heavy damage was sustained to the face of the Ocean Beauty dock. Dock piling were broken and the hydraulic crane was dangling over the water. In addition to the dock damage, the second f...
Passengers of the M/V Matanuska said they barely felt the impact when the ferry crashed into Ocean Beauty Seafoods on Monday. None of the 60 passengers aboard the M/V Matanuska were injured when the incident occurred around 1 p.m. According to Petersburg resident John Bringhurst, who was a passenger at the time, the impact was barely felt from the observation deck where he was standing. “I was a little distracted. I was talking to my wife,” Bringhurst said as the M/V Matanuska began a 360-degree turn. “Then my wife said, 'John, what is he do...
The City Council on Monday awarded ASRC McGraw Constructors the construction bid for the new library. The Library Building Committee recommended low bidder ASRC McGraw Constructors for the project. ASRC McGraw was one of five bids that came well under the $4.5 million estimated cost. The bid will also allow for additional features such at higher quality finishes to the building, a paved parking lot as well as sidewalks and gutters. The single story, 9,770 square-foot building was designed by MRV Architects in Juneau. The City Council...
Petersburg residents can now pay their utility bills online. A new program allows utility customers to register their accounts and then pay monthly bills on the web site with a credit card. Customers can log on to verify their accounts with an account number and either a meter number or phone number associated with the account. “The new program will let customers view usage and billing history for themselves,” said City Manager Steve Giesbrecht reported to the City Council on Monday. He also noted that online bill pay offers the added con...
