Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 129
The state reported 186 people hospitalized around Alaska on Monday, 20% more than at the worst of COVID-19 admissions last December. Almost two dozen patients were on ventilators, the state health website reported Tuesday. However, in perhaps a hopeful sign, case counts across Alaska are trending down the past few days. After averaging 540 new infections a day statewide the past two weeks through Monday, and 580 new cases a day in the past week, the Labor Day weekend count averaged 403 new cases a day — though holiday weekend counts have in t...
The state is talking with the borough about restoring the Alaska Office of Children’s Services staff position in Wrangell, working through the details after the Legislature added funding for the job in this year’s budget. Legislators appropriated enough money to cover half the salary, with the borough agreeing to cover the other half and provide free office space. “The Office of Children’s Services is currently working with the Wrangell Borough to try to solidify details of the position,” Clinton Bennett, spokesman for the Department of Health...
Discussions and medical decisions about the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 should be based on facts, not scientifically untested and unproven rumors spread on social media. And certainly not on irresponsible health care advice prescribed by an elected official who seems to think a drug that kills worms in horses and cows might also destroy the coronavirus in people. A polite person might say "horse feathers" to such medical guidance from an unlicensed politician. A not-so-nice person...
KENAI (AP) – The Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor, who is not a medical professional, has promoted a debunked treatment for COVID-19 that is intended more for farm animals. Mayor Charlie Pierce has publicly backed the use of ivermectin, an anti-parasitic deworming drug, the Peninsula Clarion newspaper reported Aug. 25. Livestock supply stores in the borough, south of Anchorage, have received numerous inquiries about the drug in the recent weeks. Pierce has twice defended use of the drug, first at last week’s borough meeting and during a radio sho...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth returned home to Alaska last week to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Service High School alumnus made a halftime appearance last Friday night during his alma mater’s game at West High School. “I just want to encourage everybody to do your part, to talk to your doctor and if it’s the right decision for you, please get vaccinated, please take care of one another,” Schlereth said Aug. 20. He has been advocating on social media for COVID-19 vaccines, and he said the NF...
As legislators meet in special session this week, Gov. Mike Dunleavy continues to push his plan for much larger Permanent Fund dividends, saying “cash is the ultimate program” to help Alaskans. “Cash in the form of the Permanent Fund dividend … is really the answer to helping Alaskans and our private economy,” the governor said in a prepared statement Monday, the day lawmakers went back to work in Juneau. While promoting his plan to pay dividends almost double the average of the past 10 years without any new revenues to cover the state spe...
Petersburg schools will open Aug. 31 with face masks required for at least the first two weeks of the semester, reviewing the policy at the next school board meeting on Sept. 14. Based on the high count of active COVID-19 cases in Ketchikan, schools there would open Aug. 26 with face masks required of all students, staff and visitors under a draft back-to-school plan subject to school board approval. Ketchikan’s mask requirement would shift to optional when the active case count in the community drops to five or fewer. The count was 98 a...
Face masks are going back on in several communities across Alaska as health officials continue urging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The state reported more than 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus Friday through Tuesday, and almost 4,000 since mid-July, as the numbers have climbed to high-alert levels not seen since last January. Meanwhile, vaccination rates have not changed much, reaching 58% of all eligible Alaskans age 12 and older with at least one dose as of Tuesday, up from 57% a week ago. Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa M...
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium has joined the list of health care providers encouraging Alaskans to participate in the potentially money-saving special enrollment period for insurance offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The latest round of federal aid for people hurt by the pandemic’s hit to the economy, the American Rescue Plan Act, includes “additional insurance subsidies and (ACA) plan options for individuals and families,” SEARHC explained in a prepared statement July 22. “During this one-time special enrollm...
The first cruise ship to cancel runs through Southeast Alaska this summer due to COVID-19 cases on board is tied up in Juneau, waiting for the 10-day quarantine for the crew to end. The 267-foot American Constellation, which was carrying 162 passengers and a crew of 52, docked in Juneau last Saturday after a day earlier letting off several people in Petersburg for medical care and quarantine. Uninfected passengers flew home from Juneau, while the crew remains on board. “The three individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, along with their cl...
Legislative efforts to restore an Office of Children’s Services caseworker in Wrangell and fund a commercial fisheries staffer in town survived the governor’s budget vetoes. Wrangell lost its Department of Fish and Game position last year due to the governor’s budget cuts, and has been without a children’s services caseworker for several years. The borough and school district both had spoken in support of restoring the caseworker job in town, with the borough offering to provide free rent and help with the salary to entice state funding. Though...
Officials reported two new COVID-19 cases in Wrangell late Thursday afternoon, the sixth and seventh this month. "These individuals are Wrangell residents, and are both close contacts of a recent COVID positive case in Wrangell," the borough reported in a prepared statement. "The individuals are symptomatic and are isolating." The other cases this month were reported June 2 (two people), June 9 (also two cases) and June 15 (one case). All are Wrangell residents. This month's COVID cases were the first reported in town since May 6. Wrangell has...
The Petersburg borough is offering $10,000 in prizes during June to encourage residents who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 to get the shot. The Sleeves Up Petersburg drawing is sponsored by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, with money distributed through the Alaska Chamber of Commerce. It’s part of a campaign to increase the state’s vaccination rate by 25%. “That’s the drive from the start, to increase our vaccination rate and get out of this pandemic,” said Petersburg Incident Commander Karl Hagerman. “Let’s ge...
JUNEAU (AP) – The state of Alaska has begun offering free COVID-19 vaccines at airports, a move that was planned a month ago for the start of the summer travel season as an additional enticement for visitors to come to Alaska. The state health department said vaccine eligibility was expanded June 1 to include anyone in Alaska who is at least 12 years old, including visitors from other states or countries. In addition to airport vaccination sites in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, the state has opened up all its other sites around the state for...
The Petersburg borough is offering $10,000 in prizes during June to encourage residents who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 to get the shot. The Sleeves Up Petersburg drawing is sponsored by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, with money distributed through the Alaska Chamber of Commerce. It’s part of a campaign to increase the state's vaccination rate by 25%. "That's the drive from the start, to increase our vaccination rate and get out of this pandemic," said Petersburg Incident Commander Karl Hagerman. "Let's get back t...
It didn’t work a year ago, but the borough and Wrangell’s state House member are trying again to restore the Alaska Office of Children’s Services caseworker position in the community. Same as last year, the borough is offering to cover half the expenses if the state will pay its half. The community has been without a caseworker for more than a decade due to state cutbacks. Bringing back a caseworker “is absolutely crucial,” said Bob Davis, lead teacher and assistant principal for the high school and middle school. “We’re seeing a huge uptick i...
State department operating budgets before the House Finance Committee this week for the fiscal year that starts July 1 include funding to restore the commercial fisheries position in Wrangell and also the Office of Children's Services caseworker job. The Legislature tried last year to fund both positions, but the money was vetoed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Wrangell lost its children's services worker several years ago to budget cuts. The Department of Fish and Game position was eliminated a year...
House working to add Wrangell fisheries and children's services jobs The Alaska Legislature is more than halfway through session, and I am happy to report a few successes in the legislative budget process that will benefit Wrangell residents. Last year, Wrangell officials came to me with an idea to create a social worker position that would be funded partially through the state and partially through local means. We were able to add a part-time Office of Children's Services caseworker for...
Separate decisions affecting an effort to recall Wrangell's mayor and the Juneau-Douglas High School boys basketball team are similar, in that they disappointed some people, but they are not equal. The organizers of a recall effort against Mayor Stephen Prysunka made the wise decision not to fight over the legality of their recall petition, and instead to focus on the assembly seats at stake in the next municipal election. Rather than burn up time and money in litigation over the city's...
PALMER — Health officials in Anchorage say they’re worried about a COVID-19 transmission source that could delay efforts to move past the pandemic’s human toll and crippling economic effects. That source is the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the government-wary neighbor to the north where some residents balk at public health recommendations for mask-wearing and vaccination. “The large number of people who travel between the two communities daily makes high levels of disease transmission ... a concern,” Anchorage health officials warned in a rece...
JUNEAU (AP) - The governor sent a one-sentence letter to legislative leaders last week, notifying lawmakers that he has withdrawn his request to split the Department of Health and Social Services into two departments. Multiple groups had questioned the split, including tribal organizations, advocates for foster children and the largest state employee union. And a lawyer for the Legislature said portions of the executive order that would have split the department appeared to conflict with state law and faced potential legal challenges,...
Legislature trying to help tourism economy I am working hard to encourage and protect our visitor industry and the economic potential of the upcoming tourism season despite the hurdles we have faced due to COVID-19. The visitor industry is vital to our economy. According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association, not including the outlier years from COVID-19, the visitor industry generates $4.5 billion in economic activity. In 2019, 52,000 Alaskans depended on tourism for their income. Revenues...
JUNEAU (AP) - Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he is feeling better after contracting the coronavirus last month. Though his voice still gets slightly hoarse if he talks for too long, his other symptoms are now mild, he said Friday. He had a bad headache, fever, chills and body aches for a several days, said the governor, who finished his isolation period Saturday. There have been more than 56,000 coronavirus cases and 301 virus-related deaths in Alaska as of March 5, according to data from the state Department of Health and Social Services. The...
JUNEAU (AP) - A proposal to split the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services into two organizations has been criticized by health care workers, social service organizations and tribal governments. Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the reorganization plan last month, saying the department had become too large and its administration too burdensome to operate as a single entity, the Juneau Empire reported Jan. 14. Dunleavy issued an executive order to establish the Department of Health and the Department of Family and Community Services. The...
Cruise ship companies serving Southeast Alaska are taking reservations for the summer season after losing all of last year to the pandemic - but not all cruise lines will return this year. Windstar Cruises, which brought a 208-passenger ship to Wrangell about 10 times in 2019, had originally planned its first 2021 cruise out of Vancouver on May 20, an 11-day voyage scheduled to stop in Wrangell, Ketchikan, Juneau and Haines. The sailings would have continued throughout the summer with a larger...
