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In a change of plans from just a few weeks ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System reports it lacks enough crew to operate the Kennicott this summer. The loss of the Kennicott from the schedule likely would mean dropping service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and the loss of two additional port calls in Wrangell each month, May through September. It also could jeopardize state ferry service to Yakutat on the cross-gulf route, and abandoning plans to run the Kennicott to Bellingham, Washington, once a month to help move the heavy load of summ...
In her annual address to the Alaska Legislature, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski urged state lawmakers to avoid spending too much time on the amount of this year’s Permanent Fund dividend and to focus on problems causing people to move out of the state. For a decade, the number of people moving out of the state has exceeded the number of people moving into Alaska. Only the addition of new births has caused the state’s population to plateau, rather than continue to fall. “They’re counting on us to have a vision and to push that vision, whether for res...
An ongoing shortage of crew is the “No. 1 risk factor” for the Alaska Marine Highway System, Transportation Department Deputy Commissioner Katherine Keith told legislators. At a Feb. 2 presentation to the Senate Transportation Committee, the ferry system reported it was still short just over 100 crew for full staffing to efficiently operate the winter schedule, about a 20% vacancy factor for onboard employees. The ferry system, however, is able to run its schedule with crew members picking up extra shifts and overtime to cover the work, and...
The legislative session has begun, and I am back in Juneau working for you. As we dive into hearing proposed bills and dig into budget details, I want to share my priorities and remind you to reach out to me anytime. One of my biggest priorities this session is to reevaluate the base student allocation and the state funding we allocate to our public school system. K-12 education has been flat funded for most of the past eight years, which, when we take into account inflation, actually has resulted in a significant cut in funding. I know the...
The parent company of Vigor Industrial — whose subsidiary Vigor Alaska operates the state-owned Ketchikan Shipyard — is being sold to an affiliate of international private equity firm Lone Star Funds. Financial terms of the deal involving the sale of the parent company, Titan Acquisition Holdings, were not disclosed in an announcement published last Friday by the Carlyle Group private investment firm. Titan was formed in 2019 by Carlyle and the private equity firm Stellex Capital Management, bringing together the Portland-based Vigor Industrial...
The federal ship has come in for the Alaska Marine Highway System, carrying more than $284 million for upgrades to old vessels, money to help pay for a new ferry, dock repairs, additional service to small communities and even a proposed electric-powered ferry for short runs. The Federal Transit Administration announced the awards last week. The grants were awarded under a competitive application process, but Alaska’s congressional delegation wrote the provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 with the intent of s...
Feb. 1, 1923 When Charles Gearing and party came down the Stikine last week, they reached the government cabin at the head of the trail, tired and worn out from the trip. It was at night and the weather was cold. Upon entering the cabin they found to their disappointment that there was no stove, so they had to build a fire outside. This week the Wrangell Commercial Club bought a stove for the cabin which will be installed by Mr. Gearing. The Commercial Club will send the bill to the Forest Service and will no doubt be reimbursed for their...
Sen. Lisa Murkowski succeeded in convincing her colleagues that the Alaska Marine Highway System deserves more federal funding. The proof of her success in helping to write last year’s federal spending legislation is the $284 million in grants announced last week for new ferries, repairs to old vessels, dock improvements and better service to small communities. The state will need to put up about $105 million in matching funds for the grants. Some of that already has been appropriated and the rest can come during this year’s legislative ses...
Earlier this month, the 117th Congress formally adjourned, marking the close of a remarkably productive legislative stretch for Alaska. The past Congress was one of the best for our state in recent memory, and the bipartisan bills we passed will produce lasting benefits for Wrangell and across Southeast. Most significant is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which I played a lead role on. In just over a year, roughly $3 billion from it has been announced for Alaska. Those dollars are helping us build, expand and modernize everything...
Other than still needing crew if it is to put the Hubbard into service for the first time since it was built a few years ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System believes it has enough staff to operate the confirmed runs of its proposed summer schedule this year. The state ferry system has been plagued by staffing shortages the past couple of years due to retirements, resignations and hiring efforts coming up short, temporarily sidelining vessels on occasion. “We’re still really pushing hard on recruitment,” Shannon McCarthy, communications direc...
The state ferry Matanuska will not return to service from its winter overhaul as scheduled next month and will require millions of dollars more of steel replacement work if it is ever to get back to work. In its place, the Alaska Marine Highway System plans to put the Columbia back to sea after almost 30 months in layup status to save money. The loss of the Matanuska will mean more than a month without ferry service for Wrangell. The ship had been scheduled to resume sailings the first week of February to replace the Kennicott, which was...
It’s past time for Southeast and coastal Alaska communities to be heard regarding the collapse of our ferry system. It’s time to more forcefully make our needs known by energizing the Southeast Conference, the Southeast Conference of Mayors and other organizations. Southeast and coastal Alaska are entitled to have a highway functioning just like our roaded neighbors to the north. The newly passed federal infrastructure bill provides the federal funding to make this happen, if we don’t let it slip away The Alaska Marine Highway System was create...
The Alaska Marine Highway System has released its draft summer schedule for coastal communities, proposing a similar level of service to Wrangell as last year. The largest vessel in the fleet, the Columbia, coming out of a three-year tie-up, is scheduled to make weekly voyages between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska, stopping in Wrangell northbound on Sundays and southbound on Wednesdays. It is replacing the Matanuska, which is out of service indefinitely for extended repairs. Wrangell would see a second ferry the second week of ea...
From impressive athletic successes and community celebrations to business closures and painful losses, Wrangell's 2022 was full of engaging stories, both triumphant and tragic. Last January was a month of new beginnings. Issabella and Tawney Crowley welcomed Wrangell's first baby of the year, Ryleigh Rowan Crowley, into the world on Jan. 4 at the Ketchikan Medical Center. The Decker family established a memorial scholarship fund to honor Sig and Helen Decker, two former Wrangell residents who di...
Wrangell will go without any state ferry service for three weeks this winter while the Alaska Marine Highway System cuts back on port calls as its ships head into winter overhaul. There will be nothing northbound out of Wrangell after the Kennicott’s scheduled Jan. 6 sailing to Petersburg and Juneau until the Matanuska comes back into service after its winter work and stops here northbound on Feb. 3. The Kennicott’s last southbound run before winter overhaul is scheduled for Jan. 11 in Wrangell, with the Matanuska set to stop here Feb. 6 on...
WASHINGTON — A year after Congress passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, Alaska has been allotted over $2.6 billion, making the state one of the top recipients per capita in the country. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will ultimately provide $550 billion for infrastructure improvements across the country, distributing funding over five years to improve roads, internet connectivity, and provide clean water, among other initiatives. Democrats and several Republicans supported the bill, including Alaska Republican S...
I was perplexed by the recent comments shared by District 1 House Candidate Jeremy Bynum in his opening remarks while debating Rep. Dan Ortiz on Oct. 13 in Ketchikan. In referring to the leadership style of Ortiz, Bynum stated, “We’re not going to nice our way to success,” followed by inferences that Ortiz hasn’t fought for his constituents. While Bynum certainly is correct that Ortiz is a nice person, the rest of his characterization could not be further from the truth. Ortiz and I have served in the Legislature together for eight years,...
My name is Mike Sheldon and I am running against Sen. Bert Stedman in the Nov. 8 general election. We can vote for a bloated government in electing moderate Stedman or choose my conservative approach. My policies include: Stand with the U.S. Constitution to protect our Second Amendment rights, including the right to keep and bear arms. Support life and not destroy it by the murder of the innocent; defund Planned Parenthood; save our future boys and girls. Statutory calculation for a full Permanent Fund dividend. We must revoke the percent of...
Nick Begich, who is running against fellow Republican Sarah Palin and Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola for Alaska’s single U.S. House seat, will be in Wrangell on Friday. He is the only one of the three leading candidates to schedule a visit to the community. His conservative platform includes deregulating Alaska minerals development and bolstering the state’s role in supplying resources to the nation. Peltola won the House seat in August to fill out the unexpired term of the late Rep. Don Young until January. The Nov. 8 general election wil...
In unprecedented move tailor-made for Alaska’s new voting system, two different campaigns for governor on Oct. 28 released a joint ad urging voters to rank them either first or second — regardless of the order. It’s not a new message for independent candidate former Gov. Bill Walker and Democratic candidate former state Rep. Les Gara. Both Walker and Gara for months have indicated that they would vote for the other candidate second. But it’s the first time their campaigns have indicated as much in an ad jointly produced by the two campaig...
As the state ferry system ages, the Alaska Department of Transportation is turning to new technologies to update its fleet. The department is implementing diesel-electric hybrid power on its upcoming Tustumena replacement vessel, which is slated to set sail in 2027. By then, the Tustumena will be 62 years old. In addition to its diesel engines, the new ferry will feature a “room for housing batteries” that could cut fuel consumption by 1%, according to a Juneau KTOO radio report. At an Oct. 14 meeting, Brian Jennings, a projects staffer wit...
Alaska House District 1 candidates Dan Ortiz and Jeremy Bynum took turns at a Ketchikan community forum on Oct. 13 promoting why they deserve to win the Nov. 8 election for the district that represents Ketchikan, Wrangell, Prince of Wales Island and Metlakatla. About 50 people attended the forum, which was moderated by Ketchikan Gateway Borough Attorney Glenn Brown. Ortiz, the incumbent, drew nearly all of his answers and arguments back to his experience and accomplishments; his experience...
I urge your newspaper to raise hell about the fact that the new Alaska Marine Highway System winter ferry schedule provides no service between Juneau and Haines between Jan. 4 and Feb. 4. How are legislators to get their cars and trucks to Juneau from Haines for the January legislative session? How are Greens Creek and Kensington miners who live in Haines to get back and forth? Don't blame the commissioner of the Department of Transportation — he inherited this mess when the governor started getting rid of vessels. As a result, Southeast A...
A Republican Ketchikan Gateway Borough assembly member is challenging the four-term incumbent to represent Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Coffman Cove and other communities of southern Southeast Alaska in the state House. In Jeremy Bynum's first time running for state office, he got 44% percent of the votes in the August primary to Rep. Dan Ortiz's 52%. Both live in Ketchikan. About 4% of voters chose Wrangell resident Shevaun Meggitt, who has since withdrawn and will not appear on the...
Wrangell will be without ferry service from Jan. 10 to Feb. 3 under the fall/winter schedule released by the Alaska Marine Highway System last week. The rest of the seven months covered by the schedule includes a weekly stop in each direction in Wrangell, with the bonus of a second northbound and southbound sailing one week a month when the ferry travels only as far south as Prince Rupert, British Columbia, instead of the longer round-trip voyage to Bellingham, Washington. The three-week break in service to Wrangell in January is scheduled as...
