Sorted by date Results 3848 - 3872 of 5625
WRANGELL — With a lot to learn about the state’s new marijuana regulations, residents met at the Nolan Center on Tuesday to hear what some of these entail from Cynthia Franklin, director of the Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office (AMCO). Because of a travel freeze at the state level, the city covered the costs for Franklin to come down. “I figured it would be good to have the person who knows the most to come down and explain it,” explained City Clerk Kim Lane, who invited her. Wrangell’s council had not formally formed a committee to approach...
In previous Pilot stories it was incorrectly stated that an individual can’t hold multiple marijuana establishment licenses. There are four main types of licenses: retail, cultivation, manufacture and testing licenses. A testing license holder cannot hold the other types of licenses, however an individual can hold any of the three others. There is another type of license, a limited marijuana cultivation license, which cannot hold any of the other licenses....
Students from Petersburg High School's National Ocean Sciences Bowl team headed to Seward last weekend to compete against teams from around Alaska. The team is comprised of nine students who make up two squads, and they have been preparing for the event since the beginning of the school year. Their efforts paid off with a good team showing. The competition is very much like a sporting event. The teams pick names, they have a team captain and the event has rounds and brackets. The event features...
Petersburg Borough Finance Director Jody Tow presented the borough's FY 2017 budget proposal before the Petersburg Borough Assembly and members of the public. On Tuesday, March 1 Tow went over several of the significant changes in expenditures and revenues this fiscal year. "There are three threats that I see affecting the future of the general fund budget," Tow said. "It's the state funding cuts and possible federal funding cuts and the increase in the senior citizen population and how it's...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is attempting to set a new course concerning the means of monitoring halibut and groundfish fisheries. The electronic monitoring (EM) cooperative research project is expanding options for commercial fishing vessels beyond bringing a human observer on board. "It is a significant hill to climb," says Chris Rilling, who oversees the North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Fisheries Observer Program, which is part of NOAA's National Marine Fisherie...
The Basic Hunter Education Course will be offered in Petersburg later this month, and hunters 12 to adult are welcome to get signed up with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). Brent Akers has been volunteering as an instructor for the program for around 10 years. "Normally the course is focused on students that haven't had much hunting experience," Akers says. "But it's open to everybody." The program is based on a 12-year-old reading level, but experienced hunters looking to freshen...
As Petersburg Borough administrators draft a local marijuana ordinance, borough manager Steve Giesbrecht asked questions for the Borough Assembly, and the community, to answer regarding commercial marijuana regulations in the borough. “What you have also is a list of six questions that we need some guidance on to fill in the blanks on this ordinance before we finalize it enough to bring it back to the assembly for a vote,” Giesbrecht said. Giesbrecht and other staff have been creating a draft ordinance and found it most helpful to copy and pas... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly tabled a discussion regarding the takeover from the state of several dock facilities within the borough. In a January 21 letter, the Assembly wrote the state to request the transfer of state owned facilities Papke’s Landing, Kupreanof and Entrance Island docks to the Petersburg Borough. In a February 11 letter from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Marc Luiken, the commissioner said he applauds the borough’s willingness to accept responsibility and stewardship for the har... Full story
Buschmann Park in downtown Petersburg received a long awaited addition last Friday. The bronze sculpture named "Everything starts with a dream" by local artist Eric Larson was installed. "It's a huge relief, I was apprehensive taking it down there, but then once it went in it was like 'oh, yeah,'" Larson says with a chuckle. Larson estimates the piece weighs around 700 pounds, and there is still some electric work to do until it can be officially unveiled later this year at the Little Norway... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly advanced the borough’s comprehensive plan Monday evening. The plan outlines and recommends strategies for borough management and the development of transportation, economy, recreation and tourism over the next two decades. The plan is several years in the making. A consulting firm in Anchorage, hired to update the borough’s plan, met with community members during that time, took surveys, interviewed citizens and received public comment. Planning and Zoning (P&Z) member Dave Kensinger attended the ass... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a Petersburg Planning Commission letter regarding a proposed amendment to the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan. On its website, the U.S. Forest Service stated an amendment was needed after U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack directed the Tongass to transition its management plan to be more ecologically, socially and economically sustainable. “An amendment is needed to accelerate the transition to a young-growth forest management program, and to do so in a way that preserves a vi...
The Alaska Marine Highway System brings more to S.E. Alaska than transportation. It’s also an economic driver for all of Southeast. Most of the benefits fall to small rural communities. For every $1 in benefits paid to subsidize the system’s operation, $2.30 comes back to local economies in jobs, spending, shipping and other services. The report from the McDowell Group states the ferry system is directly responsible for 1,017 jobs and indirectly responsible for 683 who are employed by businesses benefitting from the state ferries. Put another w...
The parking lot of the municipal building increased by a couple spaces this week after a Public Works crew demolished the old Mitkof Sales and Service garage on Sing Lee Alley. The borough bought the building a couple years ago, and it was being used for dry storage, but the structure was essentially vacant, says Public Works director Karl Hagerman. "It's been there for an awful long time, since the 50s," he says. "You never know what you're going to get into when you do a demo project, but the...
Joe Bertagnoli knows the inherent difficulties of trying to announce a basketball game live on the radio all by himself. Bertagnoli has called a couple different sports for KFSK, including baseball and basketball, and last year he was the only voice listeners tuning into basketball games on the radio heard. However, this season, he has someone to help call games and banter with at times, his grandson Brayden Larson. Early in the basketball season Bertagnoli asked Larson and his friend Thomas... Full story
JUNEAU (AP) — Fishing industry and lawmakers on Thursday puzzled over the origins of a proposed one percent tax increase in fisheries business taxes and fisheryresource landing taxes. During a hearing on the bill by the House fisheries committee, fishermen testified that they did not understand the origins of the increase. It is expected to raise $18 million in new revenue for the state annually, according to the Department of Revenue. It is one of six proposed industry taxes from Gov. Bill Walker, including increases to mining, motor fuels, a...
Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association Inc., (NSRAA) will hold its annual Board of Directors meeting on March 2 and 3 starting at 9:00 a.m. on both days. The meeting will be held this year at the NSRAA Boardroom, 1308 Sawmill Creek Rd, in Sitka. The agenda will include operational plans, and consideration of the FY ’17 Budget. Copies of the agenda will be available in the NSRAA office, and online atwww.nsraa.org. Meetings are open to the public....
JUNEAU (AP) — A price drop that lowered Fred Meyer's gas prices to less than $2 a gallon at the Oregon-based department store's Juneau store only was caused by a mistake and prices will gradually go back up, a company spokeswoman said. Melinda Merrill told the Juneau Empire that the overnight drop from $2.92 to $1.91 between Monday and Tuesday was due to an error made by corporate staff. “That huge price drop yesterday was a mistake,” she said. Merrill said the price drop was the result of a typo. The price should have been reduced by only...
Petersburg Police apprehended Jacob Sturgeon Friday afternoon, Feb. 12, after he escaped custody earlier that morning. Sturgeon was arrested earlier this month on a charge of domestic violence assault. During that investigation Sturgeon fled from PPD Officer John Dodson after the officer approached the suspect in the backroom of a residence on Lumber Street. "After Officer Dodson advised Sturgeon that he was under arrest, Officer Dodson took hold of his arm and told him to standup," charging doc... Full story
Rain drops falling upon the Elizabeth Peratrovich Day Parade is nothing new for those who march in it, and this year's honorary grand marshal Ray Dugaqua led the parade through the rain with a mile-wide smile. On Tuesday, Dugaqua buttoned up his red coat and hit the throttle on his motorized wheelchair, proudly followed by a group of just over 25 people. Peratrovich was a champion for civil rights, long before Martin Luther King took up the fight. She provided crucial testimony and a memorable... Full story
Petersburg entrepreneur Mindy Anderson won $40,000 in the Path to Prosperity competition that aims to promote local business and sustainability across Southeast Alaska. Anderson, who's been operating The Salty Pantry out of her home selling homemade artisan breads, sea salts and other dry goods, will soon open a restaurant cafe and is currently looking at a commercial space downtown. Anderson, along with 11 other Southeast Alaskans, participated in a "business boot camp" last September in... Full story
The Rainforest Islands Ferry operations between Coffman Cove and Banana Point will resume April 15. The North End Ferry Authority board of directors determined the date at a meeting in late January. The ferry will resume the four trip per week schedule it ran prior to suspending service in early December due to low customer traffic, according to North End Ferry Authority manager Kent Miller. The board also approved a staff recommendation to have the company's passenger bus stationed locally to meet the transportation needs of customers on Mitko...
Shortly after the newly constructed Petersburg Public Library opened its doors a couple years ago, local artist Doris Olsen felt like something was missing. She kept walking by the teen room and even though youngsters were laughing and having fun at eye level, the room itself felt somewhat lifeless above the books. Olsen says the room needed something to help it flow, and she eventually decided mobile art hanging from the ceiling constructed with found objects would be perfect. After talking wit...
State Sen. Bert Stedman talked about how well the community would weather the state budget deficit during Petersburg’s annual Chamber of Commerce Dinner Saturday night. He said the community’s already endured difficult times, citing several wars and economic downturns, and has come out of it unscathed. “We’ve had these austere moments where we’ve had to pull together and this is just another one,” Stedman said. “I don’t sit in my office and eat a lot of Rolaids over it.” Stedman went on to discuss the legislative climate in Juneau and what h...
Petersburg Chamber of Commerce members sat down at their annual banquet last Saturday evening at the Sons of Norway Hall. Halibut and prime rib were on the menu and chamber members bid on deserts and won raffle prices such as gift certificates and even 49,000 Alaska Air miles. Alaska Airlines Director of Sales and Marketing Scott Habberstad was one of the banquet speakers. He gave a brief history of the company, which began in 1952, and discussed its present and future. “It’s a great time for the company,” Habberstad said. “We had a great y...
When I was told I better write a story about Ruth Sandvik turning 100 years old the first thing I thought was, Who is Ruth Sandvik? I knew of her of course. Her name is synonymous with art, books and a general zeal for life, one of the cornerstones of cultural life in Petersburg. But I didn't know who she was. I certainly didn't know how to encapsulate her, 100 years of her, in one newspaper story. I can try though to glean a few clues, and perhaps pick out a pattern, from the collection of... Full story
