Sorted by date Results 3820 - 3844 of 5553
A Local Marijuana Regulation Advisory subcommittee met and discussed issues related to the permitting and taxation of marijuana in the borough. The permitting and taxation subcommittee discussed a variety of problems associated with what it considered too restrictive state regulations regarding the testing of marijuana and how the multiple permits required would impede a successful marijuana industry in a rural island community. According to the Marijuana Control Board’s adopted regulations, separate permits are needed for the industry i...
Joan Sebastian launched her latest effort to get people in Petersburg a little healthier last Saturday with her inaugural “On Track with Joan Sebastian” workshop. The weekly event will run until March 12, it is free and open to the public, and takes place at Parks and Rec. Sebastian's goal with the workshop is to stress the importance of an individual's lifestyle when it comes to weight management. “It's part an informational group and part support group, and it's going to be driven by the people that are in it,” she says. “I will be covering...
The Petersburg Science Series presented a talk on the "Steelhead of Petersburg Creek," last week at the library, drawing an audience of around 30 people to the event. Petersburg area management biologist Patrick Fowler gave a short presentation and then answered audience member questions about the unique life history and management strategies of steelhead, which includes snorkeling the creek annually to count the species. Fowler is part of the Alaska Department Fish and Game Division of Sport Fi...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — A magnitude-7.1 quake knocked items off shelves and walls in Alaska, jolting the nerves of residents in this earthquake-prone region. There were no reports of injuries, but four homes were lost to explosions or fire following the quake. Alaska's state seismologist, Michael West, called Sunday's early morning quake the strongest in the state's south-central region in decades. Alaska often has larger or more powerful earthquakes, such as a 7.9 last year in the remote Aleutian Islands. “However, last night's earthquake is sig...
JUNEAU (AP) — A bill to update Alaska's Uniform Code of Military Justice is making progress through the state House, advancing Friday from a judiciary committee review. It is expected to be scheduled for a vote by the full House. Lawmakers advanced the bill intended to strengthen the state's military code after a scathing report found that actual and perceived favoritism, ethical misconduct and fear of reprisal were eroding trust and confidence in the leadership of the Alaska National Guard. The National Guard Bureau Office of Complex Investiga...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will discuss at its next meeting in February a request to the state asking the legislature to reallocate funding from the $40 million Kake Access Road project. Many Petersburg residents have expressed criticism and concerns regarding the road that would connect Kake to northwest Kupreanof Island, where a proposed ferry would increase traffic in between the two communities, and think the project isn’t sustainable and won’t serve its expressed need. The assembly discussed the idea of reallocating the funds dur... Full story
In less than a week authorities arrested three individuals on drug distribution charges. On Monday, January 18, after obtaining a search warrant, officers seized Marvin Jackson, 27, and his belongings after arriving in town on an Alaska Airlines flight. "After a search of his belongings a black/brown substance was found wrapped with tape inside a shampoo bottle," the probable cause statement states. "A field test of the substance resulted in a positive reading for heroin." The heroin weighed 22... Full story
A handful of citizens applied for a referendum earlier this week that would have allowed voters to choose whether or not the $9.9 million police and municipal building remodel project should move forward. Gerry Whitethorn and Don Koenigs spearheaded the effort and turned in the referendum for certification on January 19, which included 16 of the required 10 signatures needed in order to apply. It would require 125 total signatures if the referendum was approved. The application, in part, states, “information regarding the long-term operation an... Full story
Permits will soon become available for those wanting an opportunity to visit Anan Wildlife Observatory this summer. Known primarily for its abundance of bears, the observatory was identified as Wrangell’s top attraction by a survey conducted by the city last summer. According to Forest Service records, Anan draws between 2,400 and 2,800 visitors each summer. These travelers contributed around $1.5 million to the local economy in 2014, making up more than a third of all tourism-related spending. Starting Feb. 1 at 8 a.m. the public will be a...
Various streets and road patches will soon be paved after the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a resolution providing $532,085 in funding for and approval of a sole source contract for paving services to Southeast Alaska Construction SECON at its January 19 meeting. The bulk of the funding comes from National Forest Receipts, federal dollars to the municipality, along with some from the Rasmus Enge Bridge Reconstruction Fund. This is the last year the borough will receive National Forest Receipts unless congress reauthorizes the funding...
WRANGELL - Members of the community were invited to the Wrangell Ranger District Office on Jan. 13, to meet and greet with some of the minds behind the latest proposals for the future Tongass management plan. The United States Forest Service is amending the current Land and Resource Management Plan for the Tongass National Forest, which is the largest in the country. Covering 16.7 million acres in Southeast Alaska, 3.4 million acres of that has been set aside for resource development. The...
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a 10-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Petersburg at the Tides Inn on February 4 from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm and on February 5 from 8:00 am – 5:30 pm. Instructor Dug Jensen will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, flares, and maydays; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; immersion suits and PFDs, helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures, and emergency drills. There will be and in-the-water practice session, giving participants practical exp...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced Wednesday that the District 8 commercial beam trawl shrimp fishery will be closed effective 11:59 p.m., Saturday, January 23, 2016. Effort levels and harvest data obtained from fish tickets and call in information indicate that the upper bound of the 25,000 - 250,000 pound guideline harvest range for the fourth fishing period in District 8 will be reached at the time of the closure. Shrimp tickets must be submitted to an ADF&G office within seven days of the closure. The District 8...
JUNEAU (AP) — A government watchdog found no evidence of bias in how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a study on the potential effects of large-scale mining on a world-class salmon fishery in Alaska's Bristol Bay region. The inspector general for the EPA also concluded in a report released Wednesday that the agency did not predetermine the study's outcome. The state of Alaska and the owner of the proposed Pebble Mine, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., were among those who asked for an investigation. The EPA, petitioned by A...
Public Works kicked off the start of the week by distributing the long awaited blue recycling carts on Monday, but some Petersburg residents found the cans just flat out huge. The size of the 96-gallon carts were the subject of a social media post on Facebook's "Buy & Sell & Trade PSG AK" page that received almost 70 comments. Many of the comments were humorous and at one point the recycling program was compared to Obamacare, and one person even suggested they might cut windows in the cart and... Full story
In nearly every conversation related to borough government, capital projects or borough services, you can’t help but hear a borough employee or staffer say something along the lines of “with the state budget the way it is…” or “without any money coming from the state…” The warnings have become almost cliché during Borough Assembly meetings and in coffee shop politics talk. But what, exactly, is the challenge we’re facing and what can we do about it? This Friday you’ll have an opportunity to find out. State officials and employees will hos... Full story
Some Petersburg officials and civic leaders are against using annual raw fish tax revenues to help pay back a potential loan that would help pay for a portion of the $9.9 million municipal and police building remodel project. Petersburg Borough Finance Director Jody Tow helped come up with the funding plan that would borrow around $1.3 million from Power and Light's electric fund and would pay those funds back with a portion of the annual fish tax revenues. Some think the bulk of those monies... Full story
The Petersburg Land Selection Committee approved proposed language to request additional land allocation from the state legislature. “If we’re going to do something this session and we want to get the answers, then we need to get moving on it,” committee member Dave Kensinger said. Committee member Ron Buschmannn echoed that need and said Petersburg needs a greater area to select since it’s been left with slim pickings after a long awaited court decision. The Petersburg Land Selection Committee was put on hold until last month when the Alaska...
The Petersburg Police Department issued a press release stating the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs Task Force (SEACAD), with assistance from the FBI and United States Postal Service, arrested Lars Christensen and Lawrence Christensen on charges of possession of heroin and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. According to the press release, investigators seized more than 500 combined dosage units. Lars and Lawrence are being held in Petersburg on a $25,000 cash bail. “The investigation is ongoing and no further comments will b...
Oregon resident William Wahl, 41, pled guilty Tuesday in Petersburg court to a misdemeanor count of Prohibited Conduct after State Wildlife Trooper Cody Litster found illegally harvested Red King Crab aboard his boat, the F/V Victory. Wahl and his crew were tendering in Bristol Bay early last summer and after the season wrapped up they fished for the crab around the Aleutians before moving to Southeast to tender for salmon. Litster said he’d been tipped off that Wahl and his crew had the Red King crab in his front freezer and investigated t...
Petersburg Borough Planning Commission members held their monthly meeting on Tuesday and took the opportunity to talk about the borough comprehensive plan. There was a public hearing scheduled during the meeting to give the public opportunity to comment or give thoughts on the plan. However, there were only three audience members and the commission received no public comments. So, the members discussed their thoughts about the comprehensive plan. Much of the discussion revolved around zoning, and making sure that land use is clearly defined...
WRANGELL — On Jan. 4 a federal judge imposed fines on two Wrangell fishermen for falsifying Individual Fishing Quota records over a three-year period. Charles Petticrew Sr., 70, and son Charles Petticrew Jr., 42, had on Oct. 16, 2015 pleaded guilty to charges brought against them by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Alaska, and agreed to pay fines totaling $100,000. The two admitted to submitting IFQ reports falsely specifying statistical areas in the Gulf of Alaska where they caught nearly 4,000 pounds of halibut, valued at $23,375. The rep...
Susan Erickson from Petersburg/Wrangell Insurance gave the board an update about property and casualty insurance trends concerning the school district. The district had a great year in terms of premiums, and the increase in premiums accounted for less than one percent of that budget item, Erickson said. “We stayed with Alaska Public Entities. They have been a great carrier for us for many years now, and we just signed a three year commitment to stay with them for another three years,” she said. “They are doing a great job for us provi...
The U.S. Forest Service announced Dave Zimmerman as the new Tongass National Forest Petersburg District Ranger. Zimmerman will arrive from Medford, Ore. where he served as the Timber and Special Forest Products program manager for the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. "My current national forest is 1.8 million acres spread across five districts, so working on a district of similar size to my former forest will be exciting," Zimmerman said in a press release. "This will necessitate continued...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday upheld as constitutional a state requirement that local governments help pay for education, reversing a lower court decision. The ruling came in a case filed against the state by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. In 2014, a state court judge ruled in the borough's favor in finding that a required local contribution for schools violates a constitutional provision that says that no state tax or license proceeds will be earmarked for any special purpose. An exception to that includes royalty proceeds p...
