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Hello Market Friends To the Editor: We are thrilled to announce Bekah Gumz as the Market Manager of summer 2026! Bekah spearheaded The Market as the manager in 2024 and has participated as a vendor. She brings her interest in the arts and community to the role and we look forward to a wonderful season with her at the helm. Season details and Vendor Applications will be confirmed and available ASAP! This has been a particularly tough set up year for The Market Board and we appreciate your patience as we navigate the unpaid work of creating a...
Legislators are being held after school this month and the state is paying for the extra time because the governor did not do his homework. If that seems backward, you’re right. Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered lawmakers to stay late after class ended because he insists that they approve major big-time relief from property taxes for the owners of the proposed, possible, maybe someday Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline and export project. The governor believes the multi-multibillion-dollar project will go ahead if the state House and Senate a...
This is more about who will pay the cost of the president’s war on Iran and how it’s disrupting the global flow of oil than it is a history lesson about Alaska oil production. But stay with me as I run through the history to get to my point. Think of it like setting the handle on the gas pump to fill up your tank and watching as the dollars spin by on the screen. Decades ago, Alaska’s North Slope produced so much oil that the supply overwhelmed U.S. West Coast refineries. It required a choreographed system of tankers, barges and pipelines to fi...
Bear-proof bins at the ballfields are needed To the Editor: I’m writing as a frequent user of the Petersburg Ballfields, a volunteer softball coach, and a youth programs coordinator to encourage the Assembly to consider purchasing new bear- and critter-resistant garbage cans for the ballfield complex. Many community members spend time at these fields every week, and throughout the year I often find myself picking up litter around the complex, usually alongside dedicated kids who are helping out. Last week was especially discouraging because r...
Congratulating our teachers To The Editor: The Petersburg Children’s Center administration, including the Executive Director and Board of Directors, would like to congratulate our lead teachers for completing their Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. This is a nationally recognized certification and it provides peace of mind that our staff are qualified, caring and amazing. Help us congratulate them on this feat! We will be working on getting all of our staff credentialed in the near future. With thanks and pride, Sharlay Mamoe a...
Hilcorp, in acquiring BP’s Alaska assets, follows a record of cooperation with our state government that by working together each will formulate a tax solution that will be instrumental in the continued development of Alaska’s energy industry. The current deliberations from our legislative body on an appropriate tax structure must be fair and equitable in the interests of both Hilcorp and Alaska. So far, the deliberations have failed to reach a resolve, and the tax issue appears to be at a stalemate. The acquisition of BP’s Alaska holdings by H...
To the Editor: Monday’s assembly meeting brought apprehensiveness to the discussion about data centers in Petersburg. I think that this is largely because the discussion comes on the shirttail of large corporations plopping steel towers in our backyard. People find themselves leery about an investor wanting to build something big at the old Kayler-Dahl facility; they shouldn’t be. Towers and data centers are two separate and unrelated issues. We’ve been asking ourselves for decades: without fishing, what are we left with? Petersburg is still...
To the Editor: These outstanding students have demonstrated respect, responsibility, leadership, and a love of learning. Each will be recognized with a school announcement, a Viking Bus Noise Parade, a yard sign, a certificate and recognition in our community. April Students of the Month are: Rory Volk, a responsible and respectful student whose confidence continues to grow; Dawsyn Jabusch, a thoughtful and caring student who always looks out for others; Carmella Ford, a strong leader who consistently sets a positive example; Abigail Martin, a...
I don’t believe the proposed multi-multibillion-dollar Alaska North Slope gas project will be built. It’s too expensive. The risk of construction delays and overruns are too much for investors to accept. The prospects of sufficient long-term demand growth for liquefied natural gas delivered by tanker to Asia are too uncertain. The competition from less risky gas projects is too much to overcome. Other than that, sure, it could be great for Alaska. Think of the jobs, the state tax and royalty revenues, and the profitable fact that selling the...
To the Editor: I am Pastor Ken Severa, the new Pastor here at Petersburg Lutheran Church. I would like to highlight one of our projects. Earlier this month we hosted our annual “Basement Sale.” The purpose of the sale is to provide slightly used clothing, kitchen articles, and other treasures, along with soup and bread and goodies and books to the community in an inexpensive way. The other purpose is to raise money for the food programs in Petersburg. We raised over $11,000, which will be divided and donated to the Salvation Army Tha...
I do declare the following quotes challenge my independent thinking of American history and current day America. Perhaps these words sound familiar: “...deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...” “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” “He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained...” “...relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature...” “...fatiguing t...
Thank You from Petersburg Lutheran Church To the Editor: Petersburg Lutheran Church would like to thank our wonderful community for their generous support of our annual Basement, Bake, Soup, and Book Sale. Over 50 years ago, a group of women from our congregation came up with the idea for this event and it has grown beautifully over the years. Each year, many helping hands come together to organize, donate, and purchase the sale items. It’s a joyful way to recycle and reuse gently loved treasures and clothing while connecting with neighbors a...
Alaskans in November will decide for the third time on ranked-choice voting. They approved it in 2020, rejected an initiative in 2024 to repeal it, and now will vote this fall on another repeal initiative. The opponents are persistent, and they are good at raising money to run petition signature drives. But that doesn’t mean they are right. The successful 2020 ranked-choice ballot measure made big changes for the better in the state’s election laws. It eliminated partisan primaries in favor of an open primary, where the top four vot...
To the Editor: Last fall, 2025, adverse weather held me out of town and I missed the [Friends of the Library] book sale. But I did make it in time to find two big blue recycle tubs outside the Library. My first thought was, ‘I hope this isn’t what I think it is?’ Lifting the lid I found my worst fears were true. Both blue tubs, filled to the brim with unsold books, from a three hour ‘Buy Period.’ Unsold and now shipped off to be shredded and pulped. Now, after the April 11th book sale, two more blue tubs are filled with unsold books. Since the...
More harm than good To the Editor: The “SAVE” Act was intentionally given that name to infer that somehow we need to “save the voting system in America.” It’s a trick used by politicians to make uniformed voters believe they are supporting a just cause. I say it’s a trick because the United States has one of the most secure election systems in the world. No amount of unproved claims of voter fraud change that fact. A closer look shows it is a solution in search of a problem – and one that risks doing more harm than good. Voter fraud in the...
Little kids can’t help but play with their food. Gamblers can’t stop playing with a pair of dice or deck of cards. Cats can’t help but play with a ball of yarn. It’s the same with legislators who play around with voter-enticing talk of a fat Permanent Fund dividend. They just can’t help themselves, particularly in an election year. Like kids, gamblers and cats, it’s in the DNA of too many elected officials. It’s too much “fun” to talk about a PFD this year of almost four times the size of last year’s dividend. It’s too much “fun” to recite...
My wife was in a meeting with a few lobbyists talking about attending a legislative fly-in in Juneau, and someone mentioned sneaking off to Eaglecrest while they were there. "Eaglecrest is the ski resort in Juneau, right?" someone else asked. A few others laughed, and said, "Ski resort? No. Eaglecrest is a ski area." And that about sums it up. Eaglecrest is the ski hill for a southeast Alaskan's soul. Lots of people wearing xtratufs around the lodge. No spa. No condos. No trouble finding a...
Conflict in the Middle East is sending shockwaves through global energy markets. And yet again, Alaskans are wondering why, with a huge amount of North Slope natural gas, we are going to increase our dependence on some of the world’s most unstable regions. The answer, in part, is that we have failed to develop our own energy resources— including vast natural gas reserves that could supply our households, fuel our industries and military bases, and reliably deliver energy to trusted allies abroad. The good news, however, is that we are on the...
Spending money can be a lot of fun, while saving money can be pretty boring. Sure, you get to watch your account grow — assuming you invest it wisely — thinking about spending it someday, though thinking about that someday is not nearly as much fun as spending today. But when you do a good job of saving, life is much better as you grow old and life will be much better for the future generations who may benefit from your savings. As Alaskans depend ever more heavily on the Permanent Fund as the largest single source of stable revenue to pay for...
I’ve spent years working alongside fishermen in coastal communities throughout the Tongass National Forest — and one thing has never changed: the people who depend on this forest for their livelihoods are the ones who understand it the best. That’s why I’m urging every Petersburg resident to submit comments on the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan Revision before the deadline Friday night. The Forest Service has opened a 30-day public comment period on its notice of intent to revise the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan in...
To the Editor: Thank you to all the volunteers; we truly couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you, Grace Wolf, for taking time out of your day to capture the special memories of our very first community event. Thank you to the AAU basketball players who ran concessions and helped on the court. Thank you to the high schoolers who volunteered to line judge and keep score. Thank you, Jaime and Bev, for your amazing job up reffing. Thank you to everyone who came to cheer us on! And thank you to all the players for making it such a fun event. W...
A December 2025 press release from the office of Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom stated that the Alaska Voter Registration List with confidential information was given to the U.S. Department of Justice in response to the DOJ’s request. For what purpose was this done? How was this even necessary when certain voter record information is already public, and since states are in charge of elections? States are required by law to maintain accurate and current voter registration lists. According to my limited research of the National Voter Registr...
In 2019, after being selected as Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year, I worked with other award-winning educators to pen an op-ed: “Why teach in Alaska?” At the time, we eagerly co-signed as we believed in dedicating a career to Alaska students and that our legislators and community wanted a thriving public education system. My answer now is a heavy “I can’t.” My wife, Catherine Walker — the 2024 Alaska Teacher of the Year and one of four National Teacher of the Year finalists — and I are leaving. When two people recognized among the most d...
Stedman Elementary School Students of the Month To the Editor: Stedman Elementary is proud to announce our Students of the Month. These outstanding students have demonstrated respect, responsibility, leadership, and a love of learning. Each will be recognized with a school announcement, a Viking Bus Noise Parade, a yard sign, a certificate, and recognition in our community. Ben Grim is a shining example of kindness and respect at Stedman Elementary. His resilience, perseverance, and positive attitude make him a wonderful role model in our...
Just as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 drove oil prices higher — over $100 a barrel for several months — so too are the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, sending prices upward. Higher oil prices mean more money for the Alaska state treasury. After the annual draw on Permanent Fund earnings, the money from oil taxes and royalties, which are based on price per barrel and production, are the second-largest deposit to the state checkbook. Every other taxpayer is so small as to be a drop in the barrel. Rising...
