Sorted by date Results 2707 - 2731 of 5574
Gary Morgan, an electrician operator with Power & Light in Petersburg, recently decided to resign so he could focus more on his marijuana business. Morgan, after three years in the position, is scheduled to leave the department on December 8, after helping Power & Light with a project he had started earlier this fall. For about a year, Morgan has juggled a licensed weed growing facility and a full-time job. His daily workload usually starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at midnight, he said. "It got to...
Two Petersburg police officers who returned from training in Fairbanks recently finished first and second in their graduating class. Officers Louis Waechter and Carl Tate were first and second, respectively, at the training academy graduation ceremony in November. "We just said we were going to take over the academy," Tate said. "We didn't want any other PD to have that spot." Waechter said there were about six other police departments there, amounting to about 18 officers. There was a...
Police reports over the past year show a significant number of thefts and burglaries each week. Police Chief Kelly Swihart told the Pilot this week that there are numerous reasons for the thefts. It’s not all related to drugs. “There could be a drug nexus in a lot of these things. If we really look at this, we’re dealing with the same population. Some struggle with their addictions. Some struggle for survival. “We’re dealing with the same population of violators, but they’re stealing for different reasons,” Swihart noted. According to...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) _ Several Kodiak residents have reported seeing bears in town throughout the past few weeks, and at least one area expert believes that’s because of a lackluster berry crop this year. Although the state Department of Fish and Game hasn’t received a higher-than-normal number of reported bear sightings, area wildlife biologist Nathan Svoboda believes a berry crop failure might have something to do with the encounters, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Wednesday. In years when the berry crop fails, bears become nut...
Three Petersburg students were selected to attend the All-State Music Festival about two weeks ago, a three-day trip to Anchorage that ends with some of the best young musicians in Alaska coming together for a concert. Students started auditioning in September, and then had a month to study the material before the festival. From Petersburg, two students were selected to the all-state choir, including seniors Jessica Ieremia, mixed choir, and Julia Murph, treble. They were two of 727 auditions for the all-state choir, and two of 175 musicians...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Bill Walker on Tuesday touted the benefits a major liquefied natural gas project would bring to Alaska, though the project, which the state is pursuing with Chinese partners, is far from assured. Walker, speaking in Anchorage, told reporters the project could provide affordable natural gas to communities, create thousands of jobs and generate up to $2 billion a year in revenue for the state. Walker’s office released the agreement that Walker and Keith Meyer, president of the state-sponsored Alaska Gasline Development...
Sports fans and other television viewers subscribing to General Communication Inc. have likely noticed that its FOX programming has been absent for most of the month. Since November 8 the telecommunications provider has been unable to show FOX in Southeast Alaska due to a contract row with television station KJUD. Based in Juneau, the television station is an ABC affiliate owned by Vision Alaska LLC, and in addition to FOX, carries programming for the CW network. In a media release GCI...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — New screening procedures have been put in place for carry-on baggage at Alaska’s largest airports. The Transportation Security Administration announced Tuesday that passengers will be required to place all electronics larger than a cellphone in X-ray bins, KTUU-TV reported . Previous procedures only required laptops to be placed in the bins. “The electronics should be placed in a bin with nothing on top or below, similar to how laptops have been screened for several years,” a security administration statement said. I...
Legislators wrapped up their fourth special session called for the year last week, passing a crime reform bill but failing to take up any new revenue measures. Passing both chambers, Senate Bill 54 revises the criminal justice reform package passed under SB 91 in 2016. The latest bill is based on recommendations by the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission, including tightening up penalties for Class C felonies and repeat thefts, violations of release and sex trafficking offenses. "There was...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has signed a crime bill passed this month during a special legislative session. Lawmakers acted in response to a public outcry over crime and concerns that arose from a criminal justice overhaul approved last year. Walker, an independent, says the new measure is a first step in returning important tools to law enforcement. The bill changes presumptive sentencing ranges for Class C felonies. First offenses change from a probationary sentence to a jail term of zero to 2 years. The law creates a...
One of Southeast's primary ferries will be out of service longer than expected as it undergoes annual maintenance, affecting the winter schedule. The Alaska Marine Highway System announced last week the M/V Malaspina will be out of commission several months longer than expected. The vessel went in for its annual overhaul and certification on October 1, with the intention of returning it to service on December 22. During the overhaul engineers determined an extensive replacement of the craft's...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska couple is looking to change a law that requires people to pay taxes on damaged property. Ron and Jane Hunt lost a house in a fire Jan. 8. Ron Hunt says he went to the Fairbanks North Star Borough to report the fire. “I was expecting to get a property tax adjustment,” he said. Ron Hunt learned he would be required to pay his full tax bill $6,977.92 on the North Pole property, even though the house, a rental, and an attached shop were reduced to rubble. The Hunts live next door to the rental property but conti...
WRANGELL — The learning experience for Wrangell students continues to get more technological, with new devices and programs hitting local schools this year. Technology director Matt Gore gave the Sentinel a run-through of some of these developments Tuesday. It started with “tech time in the morning,” an informal zero-hour period where students are encouraged to undertake various technological projects. For instance, that morning found senior JD Barratt soldering together components for a lighting setup, while Kellan Eagle put together the fra...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — In a story in the Wrangell Sentinel and Petersburg Pilot last week, about a group’s report about the state ferry system, The Associated Press reported erroneously the name of the organization. It is the Southeast Conference, not the Southwest Conference. In the same editions, a story about possible ticket price increases for the Alaska Marine Highway System, The Associated Press reported erroneously the projected source of a 21 percent reduction in expenses. The reduction would come from a combination of changes and som...
The elementary school in Petersburg is raising money for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, an effort that continues the school's yearly service to get students involved in the community and around the globe. Since Monday, the Stedman Elementary School has raised nearly $1,000 for hurricane relief, said Teri Toland, the principal. "We are looking for match makers," Toland said. "Businesses or community members who would like to match funds with a class." The fundraiser is called Helping Hands...
At the Sons of Norway Hall on Thursday, in front of about a dozen people, Gov. Bill Walker signed a bill that gave the Petersburg Borough more than 14,000 acres of land. The borough was entitled to about 1,400 acres before Walker came to Petersburg, a number that was personal to the Alaska-born governor. "I don't know the history of what happened, but [Petersburg] didn't get all the land that it was entitled to," Walker told the Pilot. "And I have a personal issue with the federal government...
In a story last week, the Pilot incorrectly referred to Sealaska Heritage as Alaska Sea Heritage. Also, in its first reference, a book illustrated by Janine Gibbons was referred to as “The Woman Carried Away by Killers.” It is “The Woman Carried Away by Killer Whales.” And due to a production error, a photo was credited to Ben Muir when it should have been credited to Nathaniel Stephens....
The assembly approved a bid award on Monday to spend about $59,000 on the electrical portion of a power outage response project, which raised questions from members as to why it can’t be done by Power & Light linemen. The award was given to Engineered Solutions Group, Inc., which is tasked with installing a new sectionalizing switch in Circuit 63, so the utility can isolate Icicle Seafoods and the Trading Union during outages and other line work, said Karl Hagerman, the Public Works Director, in a letter to the borough manager. It’s called the...
After two months without a hospital board meeting, the medical center CEO gave a report to the assembly on Monday that highlighted its newest staff, projects, in-house statistics and a board that recently added two new members. Liz Woodyard, the Petersburg Medical Center CEO, spoke to the assembly on Monday, starting with a note to long term care. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave the nursing department a five star rating based on health inspections, staffing levels and quality...
The Petersburg Borough wants to hear ideas from the community that could save the public money, and it’s offering a stage without an assembly meeting tone. “I hear from people all the time that this meeting scares people,” said Steve Giesbrecht, the borough manager, speaking at an assembly meeting. “They don’t want to come and talk because it’s very formal, so I am going to try to go the other way with this.” Giesbrecht is referring to his proposal to host a series of public open houses, or gatherings, which he said could facilitate in...
Petersburg volunteer firefighters and police spent about three hours knocking down a boat fire in the South Harbor on Saturday. At about 8:40 p.m. Saturday, Petersburg police responded to an electrical fire aboard the F/V Defiant. Ryan Welde, the fire marshal, confirmed that the fire department responded at the same time. He could not confirm when the department left, but the last report for the police was about 11:50 p.m., according to police Captain John Hamilton. Harbor officials were also...
(JUNEAU, Alaska) – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) announced Wednesday that extended repairs needed on the MV Malaspina will change winter ferry service for Southeast Alaska and Prince Rupert. The Malaspina went in for its annual overhaul and certification on October 1, 2017 and was scheduled to return to service on December 22, 2017. During the overhaul, engineers determined that extensive steel replacement was needed and that both propeller hubs must be repaired. Because shipyard space is limited and propeller hubs will take s...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A report by Alaska’s Southeast Conference calls for the state marine highway system to increase its ticket prices. The recommendation is part of a 25-year plan that Gov. Bill Walker asked the conference’s stakeholders to put together for the struggling Alaska Marine Highway System, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Thursday. The major part of the plan is to turn the marine highway into a public corporation. The system’s Reform Steering Committee is pursuing legislative changes to make that happen. Stakeholders estimat...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Sometime next April, pregnant cows in the Porcupine Caribou Herd in Canada will take the lead in an annual migration of nearly 200,000 animals north to Alaska. From winter grounds in Canada’s Yukon Territory, the caribou traveling in small and large groups will cross rivers and gaps in the mighty Brooks Range on the 400-mile (643-kilometer) journey. Their destination is the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a strip of flat tundra between the mountains and Arctic Ocean. The plain provides food and a v...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A report by an Alaska regional development organization indicated that the success of the state ferry service could hinge on repairing the troubled relationship between its management and labor force. The Southwest Conference found that the relationship was strained, inefficient and ineffective, causing financial problems for the Alaska Marine Highway System, the Kodiak Daily Mirror newspaper reported Friday. “Management and labor need to have a realignment so they’re working toward a common goal,’’ said Robert Venables,...
