Sorted by date Results 701 - 717 of 717
A month ago, the draft cruise ship schedule for Wrangell showed 50 stops in town, with the two largest vessels able to accommodate 1,100 and 1,300 passengers and crew. But now, there's not much the community can do but wait to see whether or not smaller ships still come to town, said Stephanie Cook, executive director of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. A Feb. 4 decision by the government of Canada to keep its waters closed to cruise ship traffic through February 2022 blocks the larger vessels...
It helps, but it doesn't solve the problem. The latest round of federal relief aid is equal to about half of this year's school budget deficit. The $900 billion relief bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the president at the end of December included $54 billion to be distributed nationwide to help K-12 schools reopen and assist with additional expenses and lost revenues due to the pandemic. Of that $54 billion, the Alaska Department of Education received almost $144 million that it ha...
Maybe Alaskans just needed more time to get used to the idea of paying taxes, or maybe the risk of losing their Permanent Fund dividend woke them up to the state's dire fiscal situation. Whatever the reason, several legislators say their colleagues and constituents are now more willing to talk about, consider and maybe even accept taxes. "I think that when you're bent over the cliff, hanging by your ankles, it brings reality into sharper focus," said Fairbanks Sen. Click Bishop, co-chair of the...
It is going to be another rough year for Southeast Alaska communities. The closure of Canadian waters to cruise ships on their way to and from Alaska is going to mean a lot fewer visitors to towns up and down the Panhandle. Wrangell is among them. But some visitors will still come to Wrangell this summer, whether by smaller cruise ship, air travel or the state ferries. And the Sentinel wants to do everything it can to make that number as large as possible, promoting the community as a...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking lawmakers to put before voters this summer a $356 million bond issue for projects across the state. The governor wants a special election - rather than waiting until the next statewide vote in 2022 - to get the work out sooner to help the pandemic-tattered economy. "This statewide bond package is essential to stabilizing our economy and putting Alaskans back to work following the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic," Dunleavy said in a statement. "Not only will...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking legislators for $2 million in state funds to hold a special election this summer, to ask voters their opinion of a Permanent Fund dividend that would average $2,400 a year for the rest of the decade and beyond. The governor's proposal is to split the annual withdrawal of Permanent Fund earnings between dividends and public services 50-50. He introduced legislation to call for the special election as an advisory vote, and a few days later promoted the issue in his...
Just because I don't use Facebook doesn't mean I don't see its value in spreading the word about community events online. Even better, people like it because it's free. But the Sentinel also does that, and the publicity is free, too, though we need to know about the events before we can share the news with Wrangell. Is your community group holding a meeting that is open to the public, holding a fundraiser, looking for donations or simply or looking for new members? Is your organization doing som...
Wrangell would see one northbound and one southbound state ferry each week this summer, under the proposed schedule released Monday. That's one-third the level of service from 2017 to 2019, before the pandemic significantly cut into ferry runs last year. Under the draft schedule for May 1 through Sept. 30, the Matanuska would stop in Wrangell northbound on Sunday mornings and southbound on Friday afternoons on its weekly run to Southeast Alaska from Bellingham, Washington. The Alaska Marine...
The state of Alaska and the municipality of Anchorage will share in $200 million in new federal funds to help renters who have lost jobs or suffered economic hardship due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Alaska Housing Finance Corp., which operated a similar, but much smaller, federally funded program last summer, is expected to manage the new assistance program outside Anchorage, with more information expected this week and application details possibly later in February. The housing...
It's good that President Joe Biden and members of Congress, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and members of the Alaska Legislature are all talking about doing more to help people hurt financially by the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting damage to the economy. The harm to people's lives and livelihoods has been terrible and, in many cases, long term. But not everyone needs help, and we should not use the state and federal treasuries for one-size-fits-all solutions. Workers who have been able to stay on the j...
Wrangell businesses and nonprofits received more than $8 million in federal and state CARES Act funds last year. "It absolutely made a difference, but it still wasn't enough," said Carol Rushmore, Wrangell's economic development director. "It's not making them whole, by any means," Rushmore said Jan. 14. "There are some businesses really hurting." For many businesses that rely on tourism, there is hope that visitor traffic will pick up this year. "We will see visitors coming to help," but short...
"Wrangell has become a center for vessel repair and services with the help of local investment and community support," said the United Fishermen of Alaska's 2020 annual report "Commercial Fishing Facts." The Wrangell boatyard is in its 15th year, and though the pandemic's economic hit to the fishing industry slowed down its business, the community facility continues to get noticed. "We've got a really diverse bunch of skills out there," said Wrangell Harbormaster Steve Miller. In addition to...
The Legislature is set to convene next week in Juneau, with the Permanent Fund dividend perhaps the biggest issue lawmakers will confront. Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants the state to pay individual Alaskans $1,900 this spring, a cash supplement to last year's dividend intended to help boost the pandemic-weakened economy. The governor also wants to take more money out of the Permanent Fund earnings reserve to pay a $3,000-plus dividend this fall, calculated on a 40-year-old formula the Legislature has...
It was depressingly sad to watch the scenes in the Capitol last week as destructive rioters took over the historic building, furious at the outcome of the presidential election. I have been in the Capitol, as have many Alaskans - for meetings and on tours - and have enjoyed the annual Memorial Day and Fourth of July concerts on the Capitol lawn. I have stood and watched orderly protests, and felt good that the building is so accessible to the public. The Capitol is a monument to laws, not lawles...
Between state budget cuts, a mainline vessel engine breakdown, a halt to port calls in Prince Rupert, B.C., and COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Alaska Marine Highway System has struggled the past year to provide service to Wrangell and the rest of Southeast. Under the governor's proposed budget for the state fiscal year that starts July 1, the ferry system would have even less money to provide service. "Woefully inadequate," Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz, who also represents Wrangell, described...
Walking around Wrangell the days before Christmas, it felt much the same as when I first arrived in town in May 1976. People said hello, starting as soon as I stepped out of the airport terminal. Drivers waved. And the Wrangell Sentinel office was on Front Street. I can't say I planned to return as owner of the Sentinel, but it just seemed right. It's not a matter of reliving my youth - I'm too old and sensible for that. My neck is too stiff to sit at a keyboard 12 hours a day. My knees don't...
Predictability and dependability. More than anything else, that's what the communities served by the Alaska Marine Highway System need. The communities need to know the schedules further in advance so that they can plan school sports, scholastic and musical events, regional festivals, and confidently market to tourists in a post-COVID world. Residents need the dependability of ferry service for medical appointments, commerce and shopping, vehicle repair appointments at dealers, and of course...