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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – It’s an election night tradition in Alaska: jubilant candidates followed by chanting, sign-waving supporters parade into a cavernous convention hall, shaking hands and taking their turn at the makeshift TV sets dotting what is known as “Election Central.’’ Republicans mill about with Democrats as race results are projected onto a bare wall by state election workers. Campaign staff line up interviews for their candidates as they cycle in and out of the room. But this longstanding event an outlier during a divisive...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) – The city of Sitka has announced that construction will start on the second phase of an oceanside sidewalk project thanks to more than $1.3 million in state funding. The money awarded through the Alaska Transportation Alternatives Program will help cover the cost of extending the walkway. The Sitka Sea Walk project is one of 12 projects funded statewide in the program under the state’s transportation department, The Sitka Sentinel reported. City Engineer Dan Tadic said the next phase of construction will extend the sea wal...
King salmon might not have been as abundant as gillnetters hoped for earlier this season, but the sockeye fishery on the Stikine starting in mid-June is coming in above predictions, according to Troy Thynes, area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “For the Stikine sockeye, our preseason forecast was 223,000 sockeye,” Thynes said. “Which is an above average run forecast. The average run over the last 10 years is about 180,000.” After a week or so into the season, it became apparent based on strength of catches...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) – Efforts to advance bulk water sales in Sitka have stalled amid missed payments. Members of the Gary Paxton Industrial Park Board of Directors this week expressed frustration with the delays, but left open the possibility for the interested groups to buy water rights if they come up with the required money. Alaska Bulk Water Inc. had held water rights to Blue Lake for nearly 10 years. The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports the company’s last contract ended in December and a renewal attempt failed. A more recent proposal inv...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska whale-watching cruise turned into a rescue mission for an unusual aquatic species a distressed, swimming deer. The 18-passenger tour vessel from Gastineau Guiding Co. lassoed the struggling deer on Wednesday, pulled it on board and gave it a ride to an island, Juneau radio station KTOO reported. Naturalist Audrey Benson said visitors and crew were watching whales when the boat received a radio transmission that deer were swimming in the saltwater on the west side of Shelter Island. “We heard that there were two...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The former chairman of the board tasked with regulating Alaska’s nascent marijuana industry has been removed by Gov. Bill Walker. Bruce Schulte was ousted from the Marijuana Control Board on Friday. Grace Jang, a Walker spokeswoman, said Tuesday that board members serve at the governor’s discretion and Walker decided it was time for a change. She said Schulte’s approach to staff and the administrative process was “less than satisfactory.’’ She said she could not elaborate. Schulte was appointed to the board in July 2015...
In 1925, the M/V Chugach launched in Seattle and it ended up being the last wooden ranger boat used in the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fleet. The vessel faithfully remained in service until 2015, transporting scientists, government officials, supplies, and guests throughout Southcentral and Southeast Alaska. Up until 1953, the historic ranger boat was based out of Cordova then it was relocated to Petersburg. The vessel is currently out of the water in Wrangell for scheduled repairs. The Chugach i... Full story
Around 35 locals turned out to hear U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski speak Tuesday night at the Sons of Norway Hall. The meet and greet hosted at the local landmark lasted two hours, and gave the Senator, who is seeking re-election, the opportunity to field questions. Glo Wollen introduced Murkowski and took a moment to thank her for the years spent fighting with the Board of Engineers to set aside funding for less populated places, like Alaska, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. The money will help a select... Full story
When a person is rowing a freshly licensed, hand-constructed 16-foot boat from Washington to Juneau, bad days are bound to happen. One happened right before Blake Miller of Missoula, Montana, rowed into North Harbor early one morning last week. After being about 3/16 inch on his map, he ended up on a massive mud flat. So his options were, get up at 1 a.m. and be on the water by 2 a.m., or roll the boat over a couple hundred yards of rock and mud. He also had the option of waiting until 11 a.m.... Full story
Gary Morgan is an electrician for Power and Light. He is a borough employee, who doesn't smoke marijuana, and above all else he is a family man with a wife and a 19-month-old son he adores. He sees cultivation of marijuana in the Petersburg Borough strictly as a viable business opportunity, and plans on growing the plant in a 500-square-foot well-monitored facility under heavily scrutinized regulations set by the state. Morgan already has the pad for his growing facility finished, and the steel...
A busy year for the Petersburg Rotary Club continued last week with district representatives visiting from Ketchikan. Assistant District Governor Rosie Roppel and newly appointed District Governor Michelle O'Brien are good friends and both belong to the same Rotary club. Over 30 attended a BBQ at Petersburg President Desi Burrell's house last week, and a new member was inducted into the local club during the event. Earlier this month, Burrell took over as club president, and Roppel says she...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Several Alaska delegates who have supported Bernie Sanders for president said Monday that they will vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in November, though unenthusiastically. One of them, delegate Taz Tally, said he has long been a nonpartisan but got involved in the Democratic party because of Sanders. Tally said he was disappointed in hacked Democratic National Committee emails that he said confirmed what many people believed that the DNC was rooting for Clinton and in some cases working against S...
The gray days in Petersburg were a little too much for Mindy Rice to live with year round, but she spent four years teaching fifth grade here after moving to the island in 1972. Afterward, Rice and the husband she met in town moved to Colorado. Rice has a poetry book coming out, and some of the motivation for the work came from her time on Mitkof Island. She's always had an interest in poetry and artistic expression. The book, published in June, is called "Sea Fever: A Poetic Journey." The...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday struck down a state law requiring parental notification for girls under age 18 seeking abortions, agreeing with pro-abortion rights advocates that the mandate approved by voters in 2010 was unconstitutional. Justice Daniel Winfree, writing for the majority, said the court was not deciding whether abortions should be available to minors without restrictions but that the abortion notification law violated Alaska’s constitutional equal protection provisions giving the same rights to all Ala...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Forty-six people have abandoned a sinking fishing vessel in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands The Coast Guard says all 46 donned survival suits Tuesday and were awaiting rescue in three life rafts. The Coast Guard says a Good Samaritan vessel was on scene, and Petty Officer Kelly Parker said the plan is for all 46 crew members to board the Spar Canis. A Coast Guard spokesman said the crew members were off the 220-foot fishing vessel Alaska Juris, which was taking on water Tuesday morning. The ship is sinking near Kiska Isl...
WRANGELL – Events for the 7th Annual Bearfest are already underway, with the first two workshops and symposium presented yesterday at the Nolan Center. The annual activity was started in 2010 by Sylvia Ettefagh, an outfitter with Alaska Vistas and commercial fisherman. Drawing a number of notable speakers and participants each year, Bearfest serves to highlight the local bear population, particularly that found at nearby Anan Wildlife Observatory. About 30 miles southeast of Wrangell, the o...
WRANGEL – Though a crisis in the local water supply has subsided, Wrangell remains in a state of conservation through most of the rest of summer. The City and Borough Assembly formally declared a state of disaster in a special meeting held July 19, after ready water reserves had fallen to a fraction of capacity. Problems with the water treatment plant’s filtration process meant supply could not keep up with demand, and early last week local seafood processors and the wider public were asked to reduce consumption. Efficiencies undertaken by bot...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed three ordinances in their final reading dealing with marijuana at its meeting Monday. One prohibited the smoking of marijuana at a properly licensed marijuana retail establishment and one added fines for violating marijuana regulations. The other ordinance added marijuana regulations to the Municipal Code, now that marijuana is legal in Alaska and the borough, even though an opt-out vote will take place this fall. “This ordinance, and I think it is a very carefully crafted and thoughtful o... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing a state sales tax and favor a state income tax. Governor Bill Walker proposed the idea of a 3 percent statewide sales tax on July 11, during the fifth special session of the 29th Legislature. The proposal was his alternative to an income tax he spoke of earlier this year as an option to combat the state’s severe financial crisis. According to the resolution, 110 of 164 municipalities in Alaska currently levy a sales tax. Assembly member Bob Lynn said he liked the r... Full story
The Petersburg Ranger District held a local celebration to recognize the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act last week and over 80 people attended the event. The celebration took place on Friday in the form of a picnic at the Three Lakes Shelter out the road. U.S. Forest Service employees treated guests to interpretive hikes and grilled hot dogs for lunch. Joni Johnson, a USFS botanist and ecologist provided plant identification walks and taught some youngsters how to age... Full story
Editor's note: Part two of a two-part series The idea of setting a tolerance when dealing with hard drugs and addiction in Petersburg might seem odd. But tackling the problems associated with drugs will take more than relying on law enforcement alone, it's a "systemic problem," according to local Police Chief Kelly Swihart. "It really is a multifaceted issue that the community is going to have to put their foot down, set their level of tolerance and then be committed and follow through," he...
If you see a group of kids walking around looking at their phones, odds are good they are chasing monsters playing Pokémon GO. The app available on iPhone and Android devices mixes the real world with the virtual world of Pokémon, and it’s no exaggeration to say it’s taken the world by storm. The game was made available earlier this month, and quickly started making headlines. It also got a lot of people like John Samuel Knight outside getting exercise. “It’s right there in the middle of the road,” he says after finding a Pokémon by Petersburg...
State House hopeful Sheila Finkenbinder visited town last weekend to meet locals and garner support for her campaign opposing House District 35, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins in the upcoming election. "I was thinking the other day of the things I did before my opponent was born," she said. "Grew up, went to college, married, had kids." Finkenbinder's main message to voters is the fact she has experience her opponent does not, including proven experience in job creation and economic...
The 41st Republican National Convention came to order on Monday and representing the largest state in regards to area, the delegation from Alaska is situated in between New Hampshire and Nebraska on the convention floor. After spending a week before the convention on the Rules Committee, Peggy Wilson, former Alaska House of Representatives member and a delegate from Alaska, is excited to show her support for Donald J. Trump, the official nominee for president representing the Republican Party after the state of New York officially put him over...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The special session called by Gov. Bill Walker has officially ended, with no final action toward addressing Alaska’s multibillion-dollar deficit. The Senate adjourned Monday, after a gridlocked House called it quits Friday. The special session began July 11. It followed a prior special session and an extended regular session in which Walker’s tax proposals failed to gain traction. The centerpiece of Walker’s fiscal plan called for using Alaska Permanent Fund earnings to help pay for state government. It passed the Senate...
