Sorted by date Results 2861 - 2885 of 5574
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The winning bidder for Alaska’s ferry Taku wants to turn the 352-foot (107-meter) vessel into a waterfront hotel and restaurant in Oregon. Portland resident Jonathan Cohen’s $300,000 bid on Friday was six times higher than the next bid, The Juneau Empire reported. Cohen represents a group of Portland investors who want to make the mothballed ferry a floating hotel at a pier in northwest Portland. “Our hope is to bring it to Portland, Oregon, where we’re based and to use it as a way to give this very historic vessel a...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An environmental activist is calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider placing anchored rafts in the ocean as resting platforms for walruses after stampedes killed 64 animals on Alaska’s northwest coast. Rick Steiner, an environmental consultant and former University of Alaska marine conservation professor, pitched the idea two years ago. The Fish and Wildlife Service concluded it didn’t have the money or manpower to provide artificial resting platforms that might give a few walruses relief but not b...
WRANGELL — Three years after a major tailings dam failure in Canada’s British Columbia province, an environmental advocacy group will be meeting with assemblies and residents in Southeast Alaska communities soon. Salmon Beyond Borders is a campaign driven by a combination of fishermen, businesses in the tourism and recreational sectors, civic groups and concerned citizens. Working with tribal counterparts on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, the group has primarily been focused on maintaining water quality along transboundary rivers. In...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Some of the highest insurance rates in the nation just got a little bit cheaper. Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield is the sole provider for the Alaska individual health insurance market. It announced Tuesday that its rates will decrease 26.5 percent for 2018. The company says on average, that means a person paying $1,000 this year will pay about $770 next year. The insurer attributes the decrease to a significant reduction in the use of medical services and the state’s establishment of a program to address high claims s...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) will be conducting a Bowhunter Education Course if enough individuals are interested. An NBEF / IBEP bowhunter certificate is required in Alaska to hunt in “Bowhunting Only” areas of the state. Many drawing permit hunts near urban areas are for bowhunting only and hunters may not apply for the permit unless they have successfully completed a bowhunting certification course approved by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Bowhunter education program meets the National Bowhunter Edu...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska will pay $2.5 million to the federal government to settle allegations of inaccurate reporting in the administration of a federal food assistance program, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services made false claims in its administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamps Program, according to the Justice Department. A consultant who advised Alaska and other states disputes the federal claims about the p...
Attorney Fred Triem this week filed a motion for reconsideration on the appointment of class officers in the case of Arlene Bell Hanson et al., vs. Kake Tribal Corporation and the motion was rejected by the Superior Court and returned to Triem because he is no longer a party to the case. Court Clerk Brandy Boggs returned Triem’s documents with a memo stating: “You are not a party to this case. Only parties to the case are allowed to file documents in the case…. There will be no action on your filing and they are being returned to you.” Superio...
The Petersburg School District wants to be clear to the public why it switched to a single phone system, and how a toll-free number will increase accessibility and better facilitate workflow for educators and administrators. Jon Kludt-Painter, the technology director of the Petersburg High School, headed the integration of a one number system. He said recent reports on school bulletins have advertised the new phone as a “District Office” number. It is not an office, rather an operator with nine call options, including a line to every sch...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A group of Juneau seniors has registered as a special interest group with the Alaska Public Offices Commission in an effort to make a difference in the Oct. 3 election. The aim of Juneau Seniors Supporting Seniors is to get the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly to restore full senior sales tax exemptions, as restrictions have been in effect for two years, group treasurer Ron Somerville said. The group’s stated purpose is “to influence the 2017 Juneau Municipal Election concerning Assembly seats and ballot initi...
Administrators gave a report to the School Board on Tuesday on the state assessment tests that Petersburg rolled out for the first time in Spring 2017. After results from the assessments of Petersburg students came flooding in through spreadsheets and color-coded graphics, comparison tables and measurements of proficiency, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said it remained an indicator, just “one piece of the picture of a kid.” Test results from the Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools, also known as PEAKS, were reported to the Peter...
Alaska state troopers are asking for the public’s help in seeking the person who fatally shot a black bear and left it in a ditch along Mitkof Highway on Monday or Tuesday. Trooper Cody Litster responded to a call Wednesday morning of a black bear dead at mile marker 19 near Crystal Lake Hatchery. It had been shot but the bear had been dragged from the ditch and onto the road, left mangled and half eaten. “You wouldn’t want to eat in a wet, nasty ditch, right?” Litster said. “Might as well put...
WRANGELL - One of Wrangell's watering holes will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary this weekend. Rayme's Bar owner Reme Privett had purchased the establishment – then the Brig Bar – back in 2007, reopening its doors on September 14. The Brig's longtime owner, Lawrence Bahovec, had been running the bar since 1962. Though he had just turned 90, Privett recounted Bahovec still worked in the bar six days a week. He was looking to get out of the business as Privett was hoping to get into it, and...
PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — Two nuisance black bears that were lurking around Petersburg have been captured and relocated. A 200-pound (91-kilogram) bear was caught Sept. 3 near downtown Petersburg after a slightly smaller bear was captured in August, KFSK-FM reported Monday. The bears were dropped off near Farragut Bay and Thomas Bay. A poor berry crop, reduced fish runs or fish not being accessible to the bears could be causing the bears to look for food near populated areas, said Rich Lowell, a state Fish and Game wildlife biologist. ...
WRANGELL - At a rescheduled meeting of the Port Commission last Friday, members approved a request for an extension by a lease holder at the boatyard. Contractor Don Sorric requested the addition of three years to his current lease, which at the moment is due to expire July 31, 2019. He requires the extension for a bank loan, which would finance the addition of new concrete pads at his Superior Marine Services. "The bank has asked for more time on his loan than he has on his lease," commission...
WRANEGLL — The state environmental regulator last week announced it would be postponing a planned monofill project on Wrangell Island until next year. In a press release issued September 7, the Department of Environmental Conservation announced it will hold off on construction of a monofill site on the island. The department is currently engaged in the cleanup for the former Byford site, a property south of Wrangell that had for several decades been used as a junkyard. The first phase of thi...
WRANGELL - The local American Legion unit held a day of service and remembrance over the weekend, dedicated to the September 11 attacks. The American Legion Auxiliary of Alaska Unit #6 was awarded a $1,000 grant this summer from the national organization, one of 50 such awards provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The funds would go toward projects across the country, held between September 8 and 13 in memory of those involved in the attacks of September 11, 2001....
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Native regional corporation has rejected a proposed settlement from the state of a dispute over public access to Klutina Lake. Ahtna Inc. has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the state since 2008 over the public’s access to the historic Brenwick-Craig Road, leading from Copper Center to Klutina Lake. Ahtna’s board of the directors voted to reject the settlement offer after considering comments from villages in the area and those submitted to the state during the public comment period, the company said in a...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska state representative has been accused of ethics violations by the Legislative Ethics Committee. The Daily News-Miner reported Tuesday that the Committee claims Republican Rep. Tammie Wilson of North Pole violated two parts of the Ethics Act in January 2014. The Committee claims Wilson produced and sent a postcard about air quality issues to constituents outside her legislative district using state resources and included the return address of an official legislative office on the postcard. Wilson has long b...
At an August 30 hearing Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez ordered the replacement of class representatives and class counsel for the Hanson Class plaintiffs who have been pursuing their receipt of a $2.7 million judgment that was awarded to them in a 1998 award brought forward by Petersburg attorney Fred Triem against Kake Tribal Corporation. Judge Menendez ordered in February 2017 that class representative Clifford Tagaban and class counsel Fred Triem be removed from their respective positions. Paul Fay was elected class representative by...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A proposed ban on intoxication in public places has failed in the Alaska Gold Rush town of Nome, which has long grappled with hard drinking. Officials say the ordinance law fell short of the necessary City Council votes Monday to proceed to a later, second vote. The measure would have prohibited intoxication in public rights of way, including the city’s Front Street, where drinkers can be seen staggering along or passed out near tourist shops. The measure included no penalty for violators, but City Manager Tom Mor...
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will be conducting road work this week in Petersburg, according to a press release submitted by spokesperson Aurah Landau. Crews will be chip sealing on Mitkof Highway near Papke’s Landing Road and also near Scow Bay Loop Road. Machinery will be on the roads, painted center lines will be gone and speed and other road conditions will be changing. “Please pay close attention to sign and flagger directions for safety,” the press release said. After the work, gravel will be loose on th...
Local attorney Fred Triem appeared before Superior Court Judge William Carey on August 22, to argue that his client Helen Lingley had given him verbal permission to reach a settlement with her former employer Alaska Airlines to resolve a wrongful termination claim Triem filed on her behalf five years ago in 2012. Lingley was terminated from her customer service position with Alaska Airlines in Juneau for removing a customer's lost ear buds from the baggage lock-up area of the terminal, for...
The Petersburg Police Department was unaware when it hired an officer in 2015 that he had allegedly been fired for sexual harassment from his last position. The officer would later have an affair with an informant in Petersburg, allegedly, then leave the department for apparent unrelated reasons, only to commit more sexual misconduct at his next post in Washington State. “We very quickly realized this is not a person we want working in this state,” said Bob Griffiths, the executive director of the Alaska Police Standards Council. “As much...
The 2017 moose season is set to begin next week, with the monthlong harvest opening on September 15. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has already seen an increase in permits being issued as the season approaches. Last year's harvest for District 3 – encompassing Wrangell, Petersburg, and surrounding islands – had seen 110 moose taken, according to ADFG harvest records. It was the district's best on record, surpassing 109 harvested in 2009. "Everything's pretty much the same," Pet...
