Sorted by date Results 3126 - 3150 of 5553
WRANGELL – Last weekend's 20th Annual Stikine River Birding Festival was not only a draw for birders hoping to see and learn more about the area's wildlife, but also was an opportunity for residents to learn more about them and others from around the state. Researcher Dan Ruthrauff, for instance, shared his findings studying rock sandpipers wintering in Cook Inlet. A wildlife biologist for the United States Geological Survey's Alaska Science Center, he spent several years at the inlet's icy t...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska marijuana retailer’s tax payment has been sent back to the business after the U.S. Postal Service refused to ship the money. Rainforest Farms had recently tried to send a box full of cash to pay its taxes, but postal inspector Aaron Behnen said “any proceeds from the selling of (marijuana) is considered drug proceeds under federal law, so you can’t mail that,” the Juneau Empire reported Wednesday. Ken Alper, Alaska’s tax director, said the state needs to find a way for “these legitimate businesspeopl...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A major earthquake in northwest British Columbia shook up communities in nearby Alaska and Yukon Territory but caused no apparent damage. Kathryn Carl, a teacher in the Alaska village of Klukwan about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the epicenter, said the magnitude 6.2 quake shook her awake at 4:30 a.m. Carl thought her 80-pound Karelian bear dog had jumped on the bed. “She was sitting there,” Carl said. “She knew about it before we did.” A series of aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.3 quake at 6:18 a.m., kept Carl...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A record breaking amount of cruise passengers are expected to land in Juneau this summer. The Juneau Empire reports Cruise Lines International Association Alaska President John Binkley announced Thursday that over 1 million summer cruise passengers are traveling to Juneau. The assocition predicts the travelers in the city from May 1 to Sept. 30 will spend around $183 million. Binkley says that the cruise ship tourism industry is growing worldwide. CLIA’s cruise lines have seen an estimated 7 percent annual increase. Mor...
Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart executed a search warrant at 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, made two arrests and seized approximately 1,500 doses of Methamphetamine from two locations at 503B and 409 Ira II Street. Randy K. Long, 53, a Petersburg resident, was arrested on a single charge of Fugitive from Justice. He is being held in the Petersburg jail on a $250,000 cash only bail. Swihart said Long faces arrest in Maricopa, Arizona on charges of Credit Card Fraud and Credit Card Theft and...
From record high opening prices in March for halibut and black cod to robust projections of returning pinks to Southeast and Prince William Sound, both fishermen and processors are expressing cautious optimism for the upcoming season. "It's a catch-up year for both fishermen and processors," stated one Petersburg cannery manager. Boats are in the yard making repairs, some are buying new nets and there is guarded enthusiasm around town. With Southeast Pinks expected to hit the 43 million mark,...
Alaska Airlines will provide weekly air freighter service to Petersburg and across Alaska in June when a converted 737-700 next generation aircraft will begin flying, according to Jason Berry, Director of Cargo with Alaska Airlines. Berry told a gathering of business representatives from town about the new service at a noon meeting at the Sons of Norway Hall on Monday. The meeting was rescheduled from last fall when fog caused the informational meeting to be delayed after airline representatives...
A Petersburg resident was able to meet a personal goal this month, taking part in the historic Boston Marathon. For runner Marketa Ith, it was her first time competing at the marathon in Boston. She qualified for the high profile event after completing the Los Angeles Marathon in February 2016. "I think if you are a distance runner, it's the ultimate goal," she explained. And for good reason. The Boston race is the longest-running marathon on earth, adopted shortly after the first modern...
WRANGELL – At its regularly-scheduled meeting Tuesday evening, the City and Borough Assembly revisited the water crisis that potentially looms over the coming summer. Public Works director Amber Al-Haddad reported efforts to “plunge” two of the plant’s four slow-sand filtration bays in order to clean them since last week showed promise. However, she was careful to point out that the method was still in its infancy, and only time and repetition would reveal how effective it actually is. Her plan is to plunge each of the filters in turn, repeati...
The Army National Guard is clearing out its Petersburg Armory. On Friday, April 21, CW2 Drew Vandries told the Pilot he and two others were in Petersburg to remove sensitive material and conduct environmental remediation on the armory site. He showed containers of oil, antifreeze and fuel that were going to the baler facility for disposal. Special Assistant to Major General Lori Hummel, Ron Clarke said the National Guard is entertaining ideas from Petersburg concerning the future use of the...
Petersburg played host to the region's budding artists at this year's Southeast Alaska Regional Art Festival, running from April 20 through the weekend. "It went well," said Ashley Lohr, Petersburg High School's art teacher. The community last hosted the festival in 2011. Thirteen high schools sent 102 students to this year's four-day event, much of which focused on honing artistic skills at an array of workshops. Eighteen 15-hour workshops were available to participating students, each of whom...
A small cadre of volunteers picked up cigarette butts for two hours last Saturday. The collection effort brought in 3.5 lbs. of cigarette waste and filled 6-plastic containers. Sponsored by Petersburg Indian Association's Quit Tobacco program, the clean up areas started at the Park & Rec facility and continued to Nordic Drive, Sing Lee Alley, 1st and 2nd streets to the library and around Petersburg Medical Center. Areas that were heavily soiled with cigarette litter were around the Harbor Bar...
For the third year in a row the Petersburg Pilot was named top weekly newspaper by the Alaska Press Club. The Wrangell Sentinel was also named a top weekly, placing 2nd while the Pilot took third place. The Homer News was named first place weekly by contest judges. Jess Field took first place in business reporting with a story about disappearing landlines and phone books in Petersburg. That story was published on Feb. 6. Ron Loesch took third place for best editorial calling for the protection of industrial zoning that appeared in the Oct. 6...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Emergency responders have placed containment and absorbent booms near a tugboat that sank in southeast Alaska. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says the Powhatan, owned by Samson Tug and Barge, sank Wednesday night while docked at Staffigavan Bay, about 7 miles north of Sitka. The tug after it sank shifted downslope 1,083 feet, moving from a depth of 49 feet to 197 feet. Divers confirmed the location. Samson estimates the tug carried 325 gallons of lube oil, 12 gallons of diesel and possibly s...
WRANGELL – Last week Wrangell’s Indian Environmental General Assistance Program office issued an alert regarding potentially dangerous shellfish. Readings for butter clam samples taken from the south side of Zarembo Island earlier this month came back surprisingly high for saxitoxin, the root cause of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in humans. The Food and Drug Administration sets a safety threshold for consuming saxitoxin at 80 micrograms (μg) per 100 grams of shellfish. The butter clams sampled at Zarembo came back at 884 μg. As a contr...
The Petersburg Medical Center is embarking on a program to "grow their own" future staff members and hope that six high school students will fill future nursing positions at the facility. Alexis Francisco, Hana Newman, Helen Martin, Tanya Spears, Madisyn Parker and Julia Evens are set to complete the Certified Nursing Assistant course on May 13 and later take the State of Alaska certification examination on June 2. According to program coordinator Angela Menish, the medical center has a...
Voters may soon decide whether or not they want to raise the sales tax cap and to eliminate the exemption for the sale of goods purchased within the borough for use outside of it. The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved in its first reading an ordinance that would send those questions to the voters for the October 3 election. Assembly member Bob Lynn originally pushed for the sales tax questions to be on the ballot. But he said he was now on the fence after talking with local business owners who told him they would lose money to out of...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – With Alaska legislative leaders at odds over how to best address the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit, Gov. Bill Walker on Tuesday offered his help in hopes of nudging talks forward. Walker said he has invited House and Senate leadership to the governor’s mansion Wednesday to begin looking for areas of common ground. The Legislature has extended beyond a voter-approved 90-day session limit, with a budget and fiscal plan unresolved. The constitution allows for regular sessions of up to 121 days, which would extend into m...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted in its second reading to approve an ordinance that provides an 8 cent power rate for the school buildings. The break-even power rate applies to the aquatic boiler room, the aquatic center, the high school, middle school and elementary school. The request comes after meetings between the Petersburg School District, Petersburg Medical Center and borough administrators on how to maintain services without increasing fees or taxes. During its last meeting, member Jeigh Stanton Gregor suggested the assembly appro...
The Beat the Odds, A Race Against Cancer has agreed to allocate funds totaling $25,718.95 dollars for cancer care equipment, travel costs, support and educational material in the community. This is due to the generosity local southeast Alaska businesses, community and the hundreds of participants at our two annual events: the Beat the Odds 5k run/walk held in Petersburg in October and the Circle of Life held in April. Last year over $31,000 was raised. Over the 16 years of the event, Beat the Odds has paid out grants totaling more than...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The capital city of Alaska is looking to expand its borders. The Juneau Empire reported Sunday that the city and borough of Juneau have hopes of owning more of Admiralty Island, located south of the capital city, and a portion of land next to the Petersburg Borough. “In the near future, annexation of this region is mostly symbolic since there are no local residents or private properties,” Lands and Resources Manager Greg Chaney wrote in a memo to city officials. “In the long run, mineral development or tourism could g...
The Petersburg Emblem Club received a visit from The Supreme Emblem Club of the United States of America Supreme President Marty Lynch and the Supreme Marshal Paulette Thompson last week. It is an honor for Emblem Clubs to receive a visit from the Supreme President, and it only happens every four years. Lynch is visiting clubs in Alaska and will attend the State Convention, which will be held in Fairbanks. There are 11 clubs in Alaska with a membership of over 800. The Emblem Club got its start...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An oil well leaking natural gas on Alaska’s North Slope was successfully plugged by pumping saltwater into the well, according to private and government responders. The state Department on Environmental Conservation on Monday said the well operated by BP Exploration Alaska Inc., a subsidiary of BP, was “killed” at 3:35 a.m. The well is five miles from the airport at Deadhorse. Employees on Friday morning discovered uncontrolled natural gas flowing from the top of a well house, a metal structure that looks like a large...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s capital city and borough are considering closing a museum, gym and educational facility to balance its 2018 budget. Juneau needs to find nearly $2 million to balance its budget, the Juneau Empire reported Friday. Finance Director Bob Bartholomew has proposed taking $1.4 million from the city’s fund balance and reducing spending by $500,000. Juneau-Douglas City Museum, Mount Jumbo Gym, the Eagle Valley Center and more are in jeopardy of being closed to properly balance the budget. The city’s priorit...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Going without health insurance is a risk. Going without it in Alaska can be a gamble of a much higher order, for this is a place unlike anywhere else in the U.S., a land of pitiless cold, vast expanses and dangerous, back-breaking work such as pulling fishing nets from the water or hauling animal carcasses out of the woods. And yet many people on the Last Frontier do not carry insurance. For them, the Affordable Care Act just isn’t working. For reasons that have a lot to do with its sheer size, sparse population and har...
