Sorted by date Results 2114 - 2138 of 5553
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – President Donald Trump recently signed into law a bill that lawmakers have called a point of unity among Republicans and Democrats. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the Save our Seas Act, which Trump signed Thursday, reauthorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program through 2022. The program works to reduce debris through research, prevention and reduction. The Save our Seas legislation keeps the program going by continuing to authorize $10 million per year for the next five yea...
In the recent municipal election, Proposition 1 failed to pass, which would have replaced the senior sales tax exemption with a rebate for qualified senior citizens and bring an influx of money to the borough’s budget from having additional seniors paying sales tax. “We’ll just continue to give a tax exemption,” said assembly member Jeff Meucci. “We’ll have to sort out where we’re going to come up with the money that isn’t generated from that sales tax component. I think we’re going to have to look at all the departments and see if we can eithe...
There were about 170 participants in the Beat the Odds race on Saturday morning, which raised over $20,000 to support local cancer patients. "A Race Against Cancer isn't just a race, but a race to Beat the Odds," said Michele Parker, chairperson for the volunteer committee that hosted the event. Since the event began 19 years ago, $223,000 has been raised, which has gone towards support groups and services for local cancer patients. During the preregistration for the event, all 225...
The borough assembly held a special meeting on Friday to tally the final votes of the municipal election and certify the results. Both out-going assembly members Eric Castro and Nancy Strand, Mayor Mark Jensen and assembly member Jeff Meucci were present. One absentee ballot and one questioned ballot were added to the unofficial results released earlier in the week bringing the total amount of ballots cast to 1092. The two ballots weren’t enough to change any of the outcomes in the election. Bob Lynn received one additional vote for a...
Sixteen-year-old Jack Byrer, of the new esports club at Petersburg High School, gave a presentation at a school board meeting on Tuesday explaining that the club is looking to compete with other schools in the spring in the online video game League of Legends after training during the fall. "Esports at its core, it's just a sport," said junior Bryrer who is the club's student leader. "It's a team based competition, much like basketball or football, but it includes video games instead. Two teams...
Local artist Ashley Lohr was featured at a reception at the Clausen Museum on Friday showcasing her solo exhibit Room of Squares, which she has been working on for nearly a year. "Things can feel out of balance sometimes," said Lohr. "This is my way of practicing some sort of balance." Lohr's paintings are inspired by color theory and precisionism art. The eight paintings focus on crisp lines, squares and indications of shadowing and light, said Lohr. She was particularly influenced by color...
Student representatives for Northern Lights Theater gave school board members a yearly update at a board meeting on Tuesday. In the past year, the Northern Lights Theater board hired a new manager, Stacy Fredricksen, and assistant manager, Justin Thorsen. They also refurbished the seats in the auditorium and remodeled the concession room. A new utility sink was purchased, which is used to clean the various parts of the popcorn machine. The theater has been operating for over 20 years. It began when a grant was given to student run...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Tension over changes to Alaska’s famed oil-wealth checks hangs over this year’s governor’s race, threatening Gov. Bill Walker’s chances for re-election. For decades, residents have shared in the state’s oil wealth, eagerly anticipating the much-hyped reveal of the annual check’s amount and dreaming about how they’d use their portion. The checks go to every man, woman and child who meets residency requirements, peaking at $2,072 in 2015. But since 2016, the excitement has been muted and, for some, replaced with anger as W...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Two men boating in Prince William Sound in southern Alaska found a pair of dead bear cubs tied to a concrete weight. Peter Montesano and Paul Wunnicke saw something strange floating in Squaw Bay while on their boating trip Saturday, the Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. Montesano, an Anchorage physician, moved his Sea Dory boat closer to the floating mass, seeing something furry. “And then we said, wait a second those are two pairs of hind legs,” Montesano said. The men found two dead black bear cubs each tied...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Authorities say three bears fed on the body of a contract employee who was killed this week at a remote southeast Alaska mine site. Ken Marsh, a spokesman with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said Wednesday the circumstances surrounding Anthony David Montoya’s death remain unclear. Authorities say no one witnessed what happened to the 18-year-old from Hollis, Oklahoma. Megan Peters, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman, says an autopsy report from the medical examiner’s office was pending. She says Montoya had l...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A deadly helicopter crash in southeast Alaska was caused by the pilot’s choice to fly in poor weather and”self-induced pressure to complete the flight,” according to a federal investigative report. The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the June 2016 crash near Skagway that killed 66-year-old Christopher Maggio, a longtime pilot for Temsco Helicopter Inc. Maggio had left a dog-sledding camp on Denver Glacier before he crashed into a mountainside about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) northea...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The state of Alaska is changing how it taxes marijuana in response to industry concerns. The current tax is $50 an ounce for any part of the bud and flower and $15 an ounce for the remainder of the plant. New rules, set to take effect Jan. 1, make distinctions between different types of bud. So-called mature bud would be taxed at $50 an ounce, while immature or abnormal buds would be taxed at $25 an ounce. The tax rate for the rest of the plant would be unchanged. Cultivators would continue paying the tax, imposed when m...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) – Kodiak is expecting 31 cruise ships next year, the most vessels the Alaska city has seen in a single year, officials said. The last cruise ship of the season docked in Kodiak last week, bringing the 2018 total to 19 vessels, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported last week. Discover Kodiak Director Aimee Williams said”word is getting out” about what the area has to offer. Kodiak’s size and remote location provides an authentic experience that appeals to visitors, she said. “People on those ships like the fact that they get...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A large lead and zinc mine in northwest Alaska is planning to build a 10-mile (16-kilometer) road to a pair of possible expansion sites. Red Dog Mine operator Teck has applied for state and federal permits for the road project. The company wants to transport heavy equipment to the prospective sites to do more intensive underground drilling, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Tuesday. The mine has operated since 1989 and the company hopes to extend its lifespan by finding a new source of zinc and lead at the remote Arctic sit...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Republican party leaders plan to consider whether to reprimand U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski for opposing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. The party has asked Murkowski to provide any information she might want its state central committee to consider. Party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock says the committee could decide to issue a statement. Or he says it could withdraw support of Murkowski, encourage party officials to look for a replacement and ask that she not seek re-election as a Republican. He say...
Utility Director Karl Hagerman says there is no present data to support that Petersburg or Wrangell will need to run diesels this winter because of low water levels at Swan and Tyee Lakes. SEAPA’s recent move to dedicate Tyee capacity to the northern communities, and likewise Swan to Ketchikan, is designed to avoid that scenario. Last week the water level at Tyee Lake was at 1,283.6 ft. above sea level while a normal level for this time of year should be 1,390 ft. Tyee Lake (located in Bradfield Canal) and Crystal Lake (on Mitkof Island) p...
October 2, 2018 Total ballots cast - 1090 Assembly - 3 year term: Bob Lynn - 521 Marc Martinsen - 310 Taylor Ladd Norheim - 353 Donald Spigelmyre - 170 Nancy Strand - 294 Bill Tremblay - 321 School board 3 year term: Cheryl H. File 847 Jay Q. Lister - 813 School board 2 year term: Katie Holmlund - 835 Hospital board 3 year term: James Roberts - 696 Kathi Riemer - 345 Hospital board 2 year term: Marlene Cushing - 905 Hospital board 1 year term: Cindi Lagoudakis - 748 Planning commission 3 year term: Sally Dwyer - 784 Richard Burke - 216...
The 19th annual Beat the Odds event offers residents the chance to walk or run in a 2.5 race against cancer this Saturday. "Our mission is to bring awareness and education and support to those affected by cancer," said Michele Parker, chairperson for a volunteer committee that is hosting the event with help from the Petersburg Medical Center Foundation. The proceeds of the event will go towards support groups and services for cancer patients, said Parker, who is a cancer survivor. The race will...
In unofficial poll numbers, Bob Lynn and Taylor Norheim were elected to the borough assembly, with the Annual Sales Tax Rebate for Qualified senior citizens failing to pass. "With only two seats open and five people running, there are going to be winners and losers," said Bill Tremblay, one of five candidates running for the two assembly seats. "Good luck to the new Assembly." Lynn and Norheim beat Marc Martinsen, Bill Tremblay and incumbent Nancy Strand for the two seats on the assembly. The...
The borough assembly passed resolution #2018-12, which supports the Alaska salmon hatchery program and urges the Alaska Board of Fisheries to further its understanding of the importance of the program to all Alaskans. “As we know, salmon is the life blood of this community,” said Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor at an assembly meeting on Monday. “Making our stance clear in support of this salmon hatchery program seems like a straight no-brainer to me.” A motion was made to amend the resolution to acknowledge the Northern Southeast Regiona...
The borough assembly on Monday voted in favor of removing a discussion item from its agenda, which addressed the possibility of 900-passenger cruise ships stopping in Petersburg in 2020. “I think we just need to delay this,” said assembly member Nancy Strand. “We have a lot of things to discuss and it’s completely unnecessary to discuss it at this time.” Member Kurt Wohlhueter supported the decision stating the topic needs to have a community discussion before anything goes on the record. Mayor Mark Jensen, who requested the item be added to th...
On Sept. 25, a meeting was held by officials from the United States Forest Service to inform the public about the state’s plan to alter the Roadless Rule which prevents the construction of roads in nearly 60 million acres of land throughout the country. About 55 percent of the Tongass National Forest and 99 percent of the Chugach National Forest is subject to the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule was put into effect in 2001. In 2003, the Tongass was exempt from the Roadless Rule but reinstated in 2011. The USDA initiated an environment impact st...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A female bear and her two cubs mauled and killed a young man working at a remote mine site on a southeast Alaska island with one of the highest bear densities in the state, authorities said Monday. Anthony David Montoya, 18, a contract worker from Hollis, Oklahoma, died at a remote drill site accessible only by helicopter, according to Hecla Greens Creek Mine and authorities. Mine officials said workers receive training on how to deal with bears because of the large number in the area. Alaska State Troopers said Montoya wa...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — Sitka officials have shelved a measure that would tax single-use carryout bags provided to customers by businesses on the Alaska island. The Sitka Assembly voted this week to “postpone indefinitely” the proposed ordinance taxing paper and plastic bags, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Wednesday. The proposal would have levied a 15-cent tax on each plastic bag and a 10-cent tax on each paper bag beginning in April 2019. The taxes would increase in April 2020 to 25 cents for a plastic bag and 15 cents for paper. The measure...
Southeast Alaska Power Agency presented results of inspections of the Tyee Lake power tunnel and SEAPA’s submarine cables to board members on Thursday in Ketchikan. “Everything really looked good,” said Bob Lynn, Petersburg’s voting member on the SEAPA board. “I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. No obstructions. We don’t have to make any changes or spend any more money.” An inspection of the Tyee Lake tunnel was conducted on Sept. 12 by Hibbard Inshore, LLC for $207,096. A remotely operated vehicle was inserted into the tunnel, which u...
