Sorted by date Results 3151 - 3175 of 5587
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska lawmaker who set off a firestorm by suggesting women try to get pregnant for a “free trip to the city” for abortions is a military veteran and first-year representative who has developed a reputation for being outspoken in his conservative beliefs. Rep. David Eastman, a Republican from Wasilla, is a firefighter and father of two young children. Eastman found himself in the hot seat last week when he discussed his concerns about the use of state funds and Medicaid for abortions. In an interview with The Assoc...
WRANGELL – The Assembly decided in executive session to approve hire of a new, permanent city manager. A contract for candidate Lisa Von Bargen was accepted, with a start date expected later this summer. Rushmore will continue to serve in that position in the interim. Negotiations on contract terms have been ongoing since Von Bargen was officially selected on April 11. Von Bargen has been the director for community and economic development in Valdez since 2001, and has worked for the city’s Chamber of Commerce and its Convention and Vis...
Randy K. Long, 53 appeared before Magistrate Judge Desi Burrell on Wednesday in a Felony First Appearance hearing, which drew nearly 40 citizens to the courtroom chambers. On May 1, Petersburg Police Department filed state drug charges against Long who was being held in the Petersburg jail on a single charge of Fugitive from Justice involving credit card fraud/theft charges in Maricopa County, Arizona. That charge was dismissed on Wednesday. Long is now charged with three felonies involving...
Voters may soon decide whether or not they want to raise the sales tax cap to $5,000 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 second reading an ordinance that would send those questions to the voters for the October 3 election. Chamber of Commerce administrator Mara Lutomski asked the assembly to reconsider putting the questions on the ballot after a group of chamber and other community members discussed the issue. “…we believe it...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A former state senator is preparing to fight back against a bill that would restructure the Alaska Permanent Fund and reduce the dividends Alaskans receive from the oil-wealth fund each year. Both houses of the Legislature have passed a version of Gov. Bill Walker’s plan to use some of the fund’s income to pay off the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported. If Walker signs off on such a bill, former Republican Senate President Clem Tillion said he will work to repeal it. “If the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly budget calls for Community Service grants to Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, KFSK Public Radio and Clausen Memorial Museum. KFSK may receive a 46% increase over last year's grant of $19,000 for a total of $35,000. This year KFSK general manager Tom Abbott itemized the station's broadcast services with a tally of $36,404 for 958 hours of personnel and air-time. Borough meeting broadcasts for two employees totaled $3,648 (96 hrs. @ $38/hr.); borough call-in programs...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to approve in its final reading an ordinance that provides an eight cent power rate for the school buildings despite continued pleas from Petersburg Medical Center staff to give the hospital the rate as well. 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...
PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) – A hatchery in a small southeast Alaska community that closed down under a mountain of debt in 2014 has been purchased by a nonprofit organization that plans to produce chum and Chinook salmon at the site. The state had foreclosed on the Gunnuk Creek hatchery’s $22 million debt and put it up for sale. The Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association bought the facility in Kake for an undisclosed price this month, KFSK-FM reported. The regional group was the only bidder on the property formerly owned by the Kake N...
Judge William Carey dismissed Karen Ellingstad's motion for summary judgment, saying that the Petersburg Borough's search of her home in January 2014, prior to demolition, did not constitute an illegal warrantless search in violation of her Fourth Amendment rights. Furthermore, the court noted, "In this particular situation, under these circumstances, the warrantless search (by the Borough) was justified because the plaintiff did not have, and could not have, a subjective and reasonable expectation of privacy." Borough employee Karl Hagerman...
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...
