Sorted by date Results 4963 - 4987 of 5587
NORMANBY ISLAND, Papua New Guinea (AP) — Katharina Fabricius plunged from a dive boat into the Pacific Ocean of tomorrow. A bleak portrait emerged: Instead of tiered jungles of branching, leafy corals, Fabricius saw mud, stubby spires and squat boulder corals. Snails and clams were mostly gone, as were worms, colorful sea squirts and ornate feather stars. Instead of a brilliant coral reef like the one living a few hundred yards away, what the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences ecologist found resembled a slimy lake bottom. The cause: c...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — On Friday evening, after all the human patients were finished for the day at the Alaska Spine Institute’s imaging center, a dead killer whale calf underwent a CT scan and an MRI. The whale offered a rare opportunity for extensive study, both because of the small size and good condition. “It’s very sad when a baby whale dies, but the amount of scientific information we are going to be able to get over the next 24 hours is going to be tremendous,” said Judy St. Leger, director of pathology and research for SeaWorld who has studi...
ANCHORAGE AP) — The commercial salmon catch in Alaska reached a record 260 million for the 2013 season as of last week, up from 221 million in 2005, officials said. During the last week of August, commercial fishermen netted about 24 million salmon, according to a state Fish and Game Department estimate. Much of this year's catch came from Southeast Alaska, with 98.4 million salmon, most of them pinks, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported. Statewide, the harvest of 209.5 million pinks nearly doubled the state's forecast of 117.8 million. I... Full story
JUNEAU (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service plans to take a portion of the timber payments it has promised or paid out to 22 states, citing federal budget cuts. Collection letters from Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell went out to governors around the country Monday, saying money would be taken from funds used for habitat improvement and other national forest-related projects that put people to work under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. Oregon stands to lose the most in the move, with nearly $4 million in reductions....
JUNEAU (AP) — A drive-up coffee stand near Juneau's airport was robbed by an armed man. Juneau police say the man at about 10 a.m. Monday walked into the Heritage Coffee stand, demanded money, flashed a weapon and left with cash. A 29-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man were in the stand when it was robbed. The Juneau Empire reports police responded within five minutes of a call reporting the incident but could not find a suspect. Police spokeswoman Erann Kalwara says the suspect was a white man in his early to mid-20s. He was skinny, b...
KODIAK (AP) — A Kodiak woman is leading a study to find out why Alaskans love salmon. The Salmon Project, still in an exploratory phase, aims to find out about the deep connections Alaskans have with wild salmon. “We wanted to understand how it relates to people's lives and what values were associated with salmon fishing, salmon viewing or salmon eating,'' project organizer Erin Harrington said. Harrington is leading the investigation to figure out whether Alaskans are interested in being united in talking about salmon and whether or not a sha...
JUNEAU (AP) — Juneau police say a 35-foot whale-watching boat was taken out for an unauthorized spin over the weekend. Witnesses called police at 2:22 a.m. Saturday after seeing two intoxicated people stumble down a dock and get on board the K'eet, a vessel used by Juneau Whale Watching. Witnesses also say the vessel was doing “doughnuts” in Auke Bay. Coast Guardsmen responded and took control of the boat. The boarding crew described the man and woman as drunk and naked. Police say 27-year-old Joshua Carrieri, a crewman on the vessel, was c...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) will be conducting a Bowhunter Education Course if enough individuals are interested in taking the course. An NBEF/IBEP bowhunter certificate is required in Alaska to hunt in “Bowhunting Only” areas of the state. The Alaska Bowhunter education program meets the National Bowhunter Education Foundation, (NBEF) and International Bowhunter Education Program, (IBEP) certification requirements. For information contact Dan McMahon at 772-3584....
August 31, 1983 – Construction of the new harbor office will be subsidized with $60,000 from the Phase III construction funds for the new boat harbor, according to Harbormaster Jim Stromdahl. Harbormaster Stromdahl said the New Harbor project will not be hurt if the $60,000 is removed. The additional funds became necessary when the low bid came in at $122, 990 over the architect's estimate of $238,240. The difference was made up by the state Department of Transportation transferring $60,000 of the $1.9 million set aside for Phase III of the S...
KAKE (AP) — The southeast Alaska community of Kake is trying to save its historic Keku Cannery. The cannery was named one of the nation's most endangered historic places earlier this year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Gary Williams, the executive director of the Organized Village of Kake, fears the run-down building will collapse. He said if it comes down, it would be a disaster, with asbestos getting into clam beds and affecting subsistence fishing. Williams recently guided some visitors — including a representative for Sen...
It was during a typical cold Southeast Alaskan November day in 1968 when Felix Villarma tied his 20-foot wooden scow onto a Kadin Island beach. He was in a draw and nearing the top of a mountain, sneaking through the foliage and the rain, when he saw a doe about 100 yards away. “I watched her watch me, then all of the sudden this big buck walked right next to her and looked down the mountain at me,” Villarma said. “I put my 270 to my shoulder and had it in my crosshairs, aimed for the neck...
KETCHIKAN (AP) — Mitt Romney spent some time in southeast Alaska fishing for trout and chatting up his fishing guide. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the 2012 Republican presidential nominee didn't catch any fish. But his fishing guide, Tom Skultka, says Romney had a good time and “was pretty talkative.” Skultka says he picked up Romney, four friends and a bodyguard from a yacht outside the town of Petersburg last week. The party first flew in a small plane over the LeConte Glacier, then to Secret Lake on Prince of Wales Island, where they...
JUNEAU (AP) — Celebrity Cruises announced Tuesday it was cancelling the remainder of a seven-night cruise to Alaska, plus four additional cruises, after mechanical issues forced a ship carrying more than 3,100 passengers and crew members to return to port in Ketchikan. The cruise line said in a statement that passengers on the current cruise on its Millennium ship would receive refunds of their cruise fares and chartered air travel home. It also said it was offering future cruise certificates for 100 percent of the fare paid for this cruise. T...
Three crewmembers of the 75-foot tender Pacific Queen are safe after they abandoned ship when the vessel began experiencing uncontrollable flooding early Wednesday morning near Lung Island. John Klingenberg, U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist, said the crew issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast, or UMIB, which is a location signal that makes mariners in the area aware of the situation. The crew then loaded aboard a life raft. Another vessel eventually arrived at the scene. Klingenberg said the Windham Bay rescued the Pacific... Full story
Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen wrote a letter to Senator Mark Begich on behalf of the borough reinforcing the need for the U.S. Coast Guard’s ANACAPA’s continued operation. This after the USCGC announced its plan for phasing out of 110-foot vessels like the ANACAPA in favor of new 154-foot fast response cutters, or FRC. Plans call for the purchase of 58 FRCs during the next several years. Jensen’s letter asked questions regarding how much longer the ANACAPA would remain in Petersburg and wheth...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A big test has never looked so small. Swimming in a pair of plastic tanks within the first floor of the Kodiak Fisheries Research Center are 13,000 red king crab, each no bigger than half a pinky fingernail. In three weeks, the first of these crab will be released into the ocean, marking the first time hatchery-raised Alaska king crab have been introduced into the wild, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reports. “It's certainly an exciting step; I'm waiting with bated breath to see what happens,” said Ginny Eckert, associate profess...
WRANGELL — A fire destroyed the Allen mill site on Tuesday, July 30, leaving Mike Allen’s business venture a smoking heap of twisted metal and burnt lumber – and saw the largest response from the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department in recent memory. According to WVFD Fire Chief Tim Buness the fire began in the early afternoon and saw a quick response given the distance to the fire from the Zimovia substation and the Fire Hall. “We received the call at 2:08 p.m. and twelve minutes later the fir...
JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Permanent Fund posted its highest year-ending balance, with a preliminary value of $44.9 billion. While the fund has reached higher levels during the year — its unaudited value as of Thursday was $46.3 billion — it has never ended a fiscal year so strongly, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. CEO Michael Burns said. “This is a good year,” he said Monday. The fund, created to share Alaska's oil wealth with future generations, reported an average return of 10.5 percent for the year ending June 30, with all its asset classes yield...
The cable access show is featuring former Petersburg resident Boaz Johnson on its program in connection with the murder of his girlfriend Brittany Royal. According to the program’s website, Johnson is “considered dangerous” and “wanted in a murder investigation.” Fishermen discovered Royal’s body off the Kalapana coast on May 28 of this year.A medical examiner determined she died from strangulation. Johnson and Royal had been camping the day before her body was found. No one has heard from Johnson since then. According to Chris Loo, Hawai’i Pol...
Petersburg residents voiced their concerns to federal and state officials regarding the Kake Access Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS. The four-page document details the need for increased transportation options for Kake residents. According to the EIS, the purpose of the project is threefold. One goal is to improve travel opportunities between Kake and a regional hub. Another is to provide greater mobility for its residents. And finally, according to the document, better access would...
JUNEAU (AP) — Two organizations have teamed up to spur business development in southeast Alaska by hosting a competition. Haa Aaní, LLC, and the Nature Conversancy are combining forces to fund a $500,000 business plan contest, CoastAlaska reported. The Path to Prosperity project is aimed at, but not limited to, smaller communities. “Our focus has to be on providing opportunities for families and residents to remain in these rural communities,” Russell Dick, president and CEO of Haa Aaní, LLC, a subsidiary of the Juneau-based Sealaska regiona...
JUNEAU (AP) — New District Attorney James Scott says not to expect any big, sweeping changes from the office, but there is a new mission statement. It's short, simple and penned by Martha Penrose, an 83-year-old local woman and customer service adviser who helped Scott set up his account at Alaska Electric Light & Power. “‘May the bad guys pay and hopefully learn from their mistakes. May the good guys keep being good and show society the value of a life well lived,’” Scott quoted her as saying in a recent interview at his office in the Dimon...
SITKA — Half a century of Sitka history in a 61-foot steel hull is being auctioned off by the U.S. Forest Service. The M/V Sitka Ranger, which entered service in 1959 as the floating presence of the Forest Service in the Tongass National Forest, is on the auction block. Roy Mitchell, deputy regional fleet manager for the Forest Service in Anchorage, said the Sitka Ranger and its sister ship the M/V Tongass Ranger are being auctioned off because there’s no longer enough field work in the cou...
