Sorted by date Results 1 - 13 of 13
Pending a judge’s sign-off, the Wrangell Borough and its public employees union are abandoning the courtroom for the negotiating table, after a productive settlement conference held last week in Ketchikan. The city and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 have been at odds over renewing a collective bargaining agreement, which for 24 public employees expired the end of June 2014. Mediation undertaken through the spring of 2015 did not resolve the dispute, and by that summer legal representation became involved. Efforts t...
Alaska's two senators jointly welcomed a new addition to their Southeast team. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan issued statements December 22 congratulating Chere Klein to serve at the South Southeast delegation representative office in her home town of Ketchikan. "The district office is kind of the eyes and ears of the senators when they're back in D.C.," Klein explained of the post. "Our main business is doing casework, and that's helping constituents around the district with any kind of...
The governments of Alaska and neighboring province British Columbia initiated their first bilateral working group on transboundary mining and water quality concerns earlier this month. In a statement from his office released last week, Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott expressed his appreciation for the meeting, which was one of the measures outlined in a statement of cooperation the two governments signed in October. The agreement was a next step in the process of addressing concerns among Southeast Alaskan communities about the ecological...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska lawmakers could take another run at revising statues governing alcohol when the legislature convenes next month. A Soldotna state senator, Republican Peter Micciche, is expected to again push for reforms that were partially addressed in his bill in 2015, the Junaeau Empire reported. The Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and interested parties since 2012 have worked on new drafts of Title 4, the chapter of state statutes that regulates the manufacture, possession and sale of alcoholic beverages. “I don’t want...
Monday, December 19 Disorderly Conduct. Parking Complaint: Owner was notified. Unsecured Premise: All was fine. Tuesday, December 20 Report of Disturbance. Report of Assault 4. Agency Assist: Power Outage. Wednesday, December 21 Citizen Assist: Water running. Traffic Complaint. Thursday, December 22 Report of Hit and Run. (2) Friday, December 23 Unsecured Premise. Report of Theft. Mason Wyatt Dingwall, 20, arrested on charges of Assault IV/DV; interfere with report of DV. Saturday, December 24 Citizen Assist: Unlock Vehicle. Report of...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – More than three years of renovations at the Alaska State Capitol have wrapped up and the building’s expected to be fully open for business in January. About $36 million has been spent to reinforce the structure against earthquakes, improve its heating system and freshen up the look of the 85-year-old building. Six new rooms have also been added to the Capitol, The Juneau Empire reported. With all the work that’s been put in, project manager Jeff Goodell said it’s still hard for some people to notice the changes. He said... Full story
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s Republican U.S. senators support investigating whether Russia meddled in the presidential election, a newspaper said. Sen. Lisa Murkowski cited the need for a thorough, transparent review by the Senate, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Wednesday. Sen. Dan Sullivan supports an inquiry done through the existing committee structure, his office said. His position aligns with that of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has rejected bipartisan calls for a special committee to investigate the iss...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – State officials are looking to start charging airlines for landing their planes at rural Alaska airports outside regular operating hours. The Department of Transportation is working with airlines to create an overtime fee that could be implemented next year. Fairbanks International Airport and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport would not be affected by the change, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. DOT Deputy Commissioner John Binder said Thursday state budget cuts have brought on the need to charge a...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch is pushing to get an ordinance approved that would allow authorities to remove homeless people camping in the entryways of downtown businesses without permission. The ordinance will go before the Juneau Assembly on Jan. 9 and get a public hearing two weeks later. Koelsch had the measure drafted earlier this month after establishing an “ad hoc committee on homelessness” comprised of several business owners, city officials and a police officer, The Juneau Empire reported. Phil Wheeler, owner of th...
With the holiday break freeing up the season schedules, Wrangell High School's basketball and volleyball teams continued a long-standing tradition by hosting home alumni matches. The series started last week on December 21, with the volleyball girls taking on a team of former players. "The game went pretty well," said coach Jessica Whitaker. "We had a solid group of alumni girls show up." The alums ended up taking the tourney, winning best of five after four matches. The games were all for fun,...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Not so long ago, children’s books with an authentic focus on Alaska Native stories and culture were harder to find. That’s changing with Baby Raven Reads, a Sealaska Heritage Institute program focusing on children up to age 5. Dec. 10, SHI released five new children’s books “that reflect the Native worldview;’’ it aims, said SHI Chief of Operations Lee Kadinger, to publish 18, and to distribute the books to libraries around Southeast Alaska. Through social media, they’ve even had a request from Europe that the books be tr...
Next year's pink salmon harvest forecast for Southeast Alaska is anticipating a run statistically on the stronger side, though the numbers may not be particularly optimistic for fishermen still reeling from a disappointing 2016 run. The 2017 report predicts the coming run will fall within in the "strong" range, with a point estimate of 43 million fish and an 80-percent confidence interval. To produce the forecast, researchers adjusted past harvest trends using peak June-July juvenile pink...
