Sorted by date Results 4895 - 4919 of 5622
A Juneau Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the Local Boundary Commission's (LBC) decision to include the newly incorporated Petersburg Borough land along its northern boundary-a portion of which the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) had sought to annex. After several hearings where CBJ and Petersburg petitioners were heard, the LBC approved the Petersburg Borough's northern boundary request that extends to Juneau's southern boundary with the exception of the Tracy Arm and Whiting River...
WRANGELL — Lavina “Lovey” Brock, 68, of Wrangell, pleaded not guilty to four counts of promoting illegal gambling Tuesday before Wrangell First District Magistrate Chris Ellis. Brock, a prominent member of the local community, had been charged with promoting Texas Hold ‘em games for cash prizes at American Legion Post #6. The charges are Class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to one year in prison for each upon conviction, according to Alaska statutes. The offense dates listed on the criminal complaint range from Feb. 18, 2009 to Feb. 10, 201...
A borough committee may organize to further investigate the merits of instituting an excise tax on tobacco after it was brought up for discussion during several sales tax ordinance committee meetings. While an excise tax on tobacco doesn’t fall under the purview of the sales tax committee’s mission—which is to review and recommend changes to the sales tax code so the borough can generate an equal or greater amount of revenue—it did unofficially make a recommendation to the borough assembly that it consider a tax on tobacco. Committee member... Full story
Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen and Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht spent time in Juneau with legislators last week lobbying for state funding for the municipal building remodel. “We got a pretty unified message,” Giesbrecht said. “There’s just not a lot of money this year.” The borough has around $4 million of the $9.7 million required to renovate the municipal building comprised of the police station and municipal offices. Borough staff and officials will find out in April if the legislature includes the remodel in its capital project l... Full story
JUNEAU (AP) — State officials say Alaska's record pink salmon harvest in 2013 could create a market glut that will drive prices down for several years. The state Division of Economic Development sees a glut in supply after the 2013 harvest, bringing downward pressure on prices, KFSK-radio reported. “The 2013 pink harvest was the largest on record,” said division director Joe Jacobson before the House Fisheries Committee this month. “It's led to a glut of supply and it will probably, there will be downward pressure on prices because of it. And...
The Petersburg School District brought home major accolades from Anchorage last weekend after it swept student, teacher and administrator awards at the Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE)-an organization dedicated to promoting access to technology and connectivity to information resources. Petersburg Senior PK Bunyi won Alaska Technology Student of the Year. Teacher and Technology Coordinator Jon Kludt-Painter won Alaska Technology Support Teacher of the Year and PSD... Full story
Stedman Elementary school students are participating in a statewide program aimed at increasing physical activity. The Healthy Futures Challenge encourages students to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week for four consecutive weeks outside of gym classes. The three-month contest is part of a larger program called the Healthy Living Grant or the Obesity Control and Prevention Grant from Alaska Department of Health and Human Services—a $600,000 grant program that provides funding in installments for four years. A...
The sales tax ordinance committee will recommend to the borough assembly an increase of the sales tax cap from $1200 to $1500 and to limit senior exemptions to full-time Petersburg residents. The mission of the committee is to simplify the sales tax code and collection procedures and to generate an equal or greater amount of revenue so the borough doesn’t have to decrease services or increase property taxes. It’s been meeting since last year and its members have discussed many of the exemptions outlined in the code—including the change or el...
Superior Court Judge William Carey last Monday sentenced Joshua Franklin, 26, and Brandon Estes, 20, to four years in jail with two and a half years to serve after the pair plead guilty in December to five counts of felony burglaries and several other misdemeanor charges. Estes and Franklin broke into five local businesses around Petersburg last August including Petersburg Motors, Wikan Enterprises, the Petersburg Parks and Recreation building and the Hammer and Wikan grocery store. During his sentencing hearing, Franklin took responsibility...
Petersburg School District Superintendent Robert Thomason released additional information regarding former school Maintenance Director Tye Petersen’s possession of non-pornographic images of local children. Petersen was arrested last fall and local police and the FBI searched school facilities for signs he had taken images of students. At that time, no evidence of access points had been found. But since then, the FBI has confirmed images of local and visiting students among photos confiscated from Petersen. “Some photos were of visiting stu...
JUNEAU (AP) — House Democrats have confirmed Sam Kito III as the newest member of the state Legislature. He was sworn into office on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Gov. Sean Parnell last week chose Kito from among three candidates forwarded by the Tongass Democrats to fill the House seat vacated when Juneau Democrat Beth Kerttula resigned for a fellowship at Stanford University. Kerttula resigned Jan. 24. Under the law, the appointment must be confirmed by members in the same chamber and of the same political party as the person who previously held the s...
Petersburg Economic Development Director Liz Cabrera presented a brief overview of the Petersburg economy to the borough assembly. Cabrera used data from a bi-annual economic trench report to provide statistics on economic indicators such as median wages, jobs, food costs and sales trends. According to December 2012 data, Petersburg’s food costs are 20-30 percent above Anchorage. The data comes from a one-time snap shot of prices for one weeks worth of food for a family of four. There are 948 private sector jobs, a 2.4 percent increase over the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to move forward with its estimated $9.7 million municipal and police building renovation. Corey Wall, with MRV Architects, outlined the design and cost last Friday so that Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht and Mayor Mark Jensen can pitch the project to legislative officials this week. "We're asking you to make tough decisions in a very short period of time to meet with the legislative calendar," Giesbrecht said. "We've been talking about it (the renovation)... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted in a new member to fill the seat left vacant by John Hoag earlier this month. Jeigh Stanton Gregor, co-owner of True North Counseling and Consultation, was sworn in last Friday. Stanton Gregor said he was encouraged by several Petersburg residents to join the assembly after Hoag resigned. He said no single issue prompted his desire to join the assembly and that he's been interested in serving the public in this capacity for some time. He submitted a letter... Full story
A winner of last fall's Humpy 500 donated a portion of her winnings last Friday to the Petersburg Humane Association (PHA). Team Captain Annie Christensen, 11, and the rest of the crew of the Torpedo Shark placed first in the design category and third in the costume category. The crew was awarded various prizes, one of which was a $100 gift certificate to Hammer & Wikan stores. Christensen elected to give the gift certificate to the humane association. "My mom said we had to give some of the... Full story
The Petersburg Borough assembly unanimously approved a resolution supporting a similar Wrangell resolution recommending the operations and management of the Tyee Hydro Electric project be transferred from Thomas Bay Power Authority (TBPA) to the Southeast Alaska Power Authority (SEAPA). Six commissioners representing Wrangell and Petersburg currently conduct management and operations of TBPA. SEAPA owns the hydro plant. The joint resolution, in part, accepts SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson’s August 19 offer to take over operations at TBPA. As part of t...
Investigators discovered images of Petersburg children in connection with the pending criminal case against Tye Leif Petersen, former Petersburg School District maintenance director, who was arrested last fall for multiple charges related to possession and distribution of child pornography. Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart said he couldn’t comment on the matter but said investigators have not found any pornographic images of local children. In written release, FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy states, “The FBI has not discovered any chi...
The Petersburg District School Board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to allow students participating in the Alaska Tsunami Ocean Science Bowl to earn half a credit. The Ocean Science Bowl is a regional competition for high schools in Alaska where teams of students study topics related to oceans and present research papers, give oral presentations and participate in a timed quiz competition. Middle and High School Principal Rick Dormer said Petersburg students dedicate a significant amount of time to the project. “The kids are putting in t...
JUNEAU (AP) — The sponsor of a bill that would allow municipalities to post certain public notices online rather than in newspapers said Tuesday that he asked that the bill be pulled from the House floor to protect his colleagues. “I wasn't going to put my members in the position of having to vote on a matter that I have heard from so many of them was going to cause them problems with their local newspapers,'' Rep. Mike Hawker said in an interview. HB275 was on the House calendar Monday, but it was sent to the House Rules Committee at Haw...
Sales increased for local Petersburg businesses by more than $14 million in 2013 compared to 2012. Business across town such as Viking Travel, Diamante Gift Shoppe and Hammer & Wikan all experienced increased sales. Lee Corrao, manager of the Hammer & Wikan hardware store, said 2013 sales increased by four percent over the previous year. “A significant amount of that is attributed to the fishing season,” Corrao said. “All of the fish processing plants were operating and there were more boats.” Southeast Alaska saw the highest harvest value for...
A Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the owners of the house on 1011 Wrangell Ave. Tuesday morning granting a stay of demolition after the Petersburg Borough issued a demolition order against the structure. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. During June 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad, homeowners, that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building. Luczak sent written requests to the homeowners asking for a plan to bring the structure up to code. Because n... Full story
Alaska Department of Transportation staff outlined future road construction plans for South Nordic Drive and Haugen Drive to Petersburg residents Tuesday night. The more than $9 million project funded by the Federal Highway Administration will rehabilitate pavement, sidewalks, curbs and gutter on Haugen Drive from where it begins on Nordic Drive up to 8th Street and on Nordic Drive from Haugen to the ferry terminal. The construction on Nordic Drive will also level out the current steeper slope... Full story
A school board member and the elementary school principal hosted a community meeting to learn what local residents want from the incoming superintendent. The community meeting was part of a comprehensive survey also given to district staff, which aims to assess the most common professional and personal traits desired in a superintendent as well as education issues the district faces. School board member Cheryl File and principal Erica Kludt-Painter wrote down resident’s ideal qualities on a large poster board and after each category was filled...
A Petersburg man is representing himself at a jury trail after police charged him with Theft and Criminal Trespass for taking his dog from the borough pound. Martin Massin said his dog, Lucky, ran away when he was cutting wood near Hungry Point. He found out later through Facebook’s local Buy & Sell & Trade page that his dog had been taken to the pound. According to the probable cause statement, Massin inquired as to the location of the “doggy jail” when another Facebook user “described the location of the impound cage and further suggest...
