Articles written by Tess Williams


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  • Alaskans charged with illegal transport of Southeast crab

    Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News|May 1, 2024

    Three fishermen are facing federal charges of illegally transporting more than 7,000 pounds of crab harvested in Southeast Alaska to Seattle in hopes of getting better prices there. Instead, federal prosecutors say, much of the haul was wasted upon arrival in Washington state because the crab had either died or were suspected of being diseased. Corey Potter, Justin Welch and Kyle Potter were indicted last month on charges they violated the Lacey Act. The law makes it a federal crime to break the wildlife laws of any state, tribe or foreign...

  • Coast Guard crew rescued from crash near Petersburg

    Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News|Nov 22, 2023

    The U.S. Coast Guard said two of four crew members injured in a helicopter crash near Petersburg during a search and rescue mission late at night Nov. 13 have been released from the hospital. The other two members, who were seriously injured, remained hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as of Nov. 15, but their condition had improved, said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Salerno, a public affairs officer for U.S. Coast Guard Alaska. The two were listed in fair condition, according to an...

  • Ketchikan reinstates police chief after felony charge dismissed

    Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News|Sep 6, 2023

    Ketchikan’s police chief returned to the job last month after a felony assault charge against him stemming from an off-duty altercation at a restaurant was dismissed by a Ketchikan Superior Court judge in mid-August. Jeffrey Walls, 47, was indicted in December on six criminal charges including assault. He spent more than eight months on paid administrative leave as the case proceeded, and as city officials conducted an internal review. Walls remains charged with five misdemeanors for assault and reckless endangerment. The altercation took p...

  • Skagway loses cruise ship visits as landslides limit dock use

    Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News|Aug 17, 2022

    Several landslides have closed the cruise ship dock in Skagway for the rest of the summer, causing what’s expected to be at least three dozen vessels to skip the tourism-dependent port by the end of summer. The municipality issued an emergency declaration on Aug. 4, citing the need to shore up the slide-damaged areas and the loss of more than 100,000 cruise passengers to cancellations and rescheduling. A mid-July report from a geotechnical and environmental consulting firm showed “significant risk” of “catastrophic failure” of the mountains...

  • New law allows prosecution for rape if victim says 'no'

    Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News|Aug 3, 2022

    A bill signed into Alaska law last Thursday will make it possible for the state to prosecute sexual assault on the basis of a victim saying “no,” instead of requiring physical force or threats for such assaults to be considered crimes. The bill — which will also reduce the maximum amount of time allowed for rape kit processing and reclassify revenge porn cases as domestic violence crimes to offer better protection for victims — was one of three pieces of public safety legislation that Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed into law. The comprehensive sex-cr...