Sorted by date Results 551 - 575 of 622
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Permanent Fund dividend was finalized at $992 and distribution is expected to begin early this year because of economic impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic, state department officials said. The state Department of Revenue made the announcement Friday, saying payments are expected to begin July 1 instead of in October. "We are in extraordinary times. We need to make sure that the people of Alaska have cash in their hands to help in this economy," R...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska Department of Administration audit has found that the state’s National Guard units improved the handling of sexual assault and sexual harassment since 2014, but some problems remain. The administration department’s oversight unit said the National Guard increased sexual assault and prevention training, set up new procedures for addressing complaints and created a new military judicial system under laws passed by the Alaska Legislature, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. Citing the results of anony...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska will receive $50 million in federal coronavirus aid for fisheries, the U.S. Department of Commerce has announced, about half what state officials had expected. Alaska is home to large stocks of pollock, an inexpensive fish used in fast-food sandwiches and fish sticks, and landed 58% of the nation’s seafood by volume in 2018, officials said. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and his administration expected the state to receive about $100 million, or one-third of the $300 million allocated to fisheries in the Cor...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a special meeting Monday evening, May 4, to discuss three agenda items related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Mike Dunleavy and the Department of Health and Social Services recently announced four metrics by which they would determine if restrictions need to be eased or rolled back, to protect public health. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the four metrics are: Epidemiology, tracking disease trends and forecasts; Testing, tracking overall...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Organizers of the Southeast Alaska State Fair said Friday that the summer event in Haines has been canceled this year due to COVID-19. In a statement, fair officials said it was a difficult decision but the right one to make. “For us and many across Southeast Alaska and the Yukon, the Fair is something to look forward to at the end of the summer, a moment of congregation and fun separate from the rest of the year,’’ the statement reads. “2020 has instead united us with the common goal of preserving the health and safet...
Governor Mike Dunleavy signed the Fiscal Year 2021 budget into law on Monday, April 6, according to an April 7 press release from the governor's office. The budget, as enacted "maintains spending across various programs and components at a level consistent with FY 2020, and funds an incomplete Permanent Fund Dividend." In short, the approved budget has total revenues set at about $9.07 billion and expenses at about $10.03 billion. While adopting this budget, the governor also issued some line-it...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Governor Mike Dunleavy, Department of Health and Social Services, and Department of Military and Veterans Affairs are launching a new joint COVID-19 website. This new website will be a one-stop-shop for Alaskans as they navigate the resources that the State of Alaska is offering during this unprecedented crisis. “This outbreak is an all hands on deck situation. Resources are available from every State of Alaska agency working to slow the spread of COVID-19, financially help Alaskans, assist b...
The State of Alaska wants input on plans to distribute nearly $24.5 million in federal disaster relief funds for stakeholders and communities hurt by the 2018 Gulf of Alaska cod crash. Better make it quick – the deadline to comment is April 10. Cod is Alaska’s second largest groundfish harvest (after pollock), but the Gulf stock dropped by 80% in 2018 following a three year heatwave that disrupted food webs, fish metabolism and egg survival on the ocean floor. It combined to push down cod catches to just 28.8 million pounds, compared to nea...
The City and Borough of Wrangell held a special meeting via teleconference last Sunday afternoon, March 22, to issue an emergency "shelter in place" order. The assembly recently granted the mayor and borough manager the ability to issue emergency orders in the interest of public health, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen issued Wrangell's first emergency orders last week, limiting restaurants to to-go service only and limiting public gatherings to a maximum of...
4/1/20 COVID-19 Update Mayor Steve Prysunka and Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen hosted a brief teleconference, on Wed., April 1, to share pertinent information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic with the public. There are still no confirmed cases of the virus in Wrangell as of this date, Prysunka said. However, this is not cause for relaxation. Von Bargen said she was recently part of a teleconference with other city managers across Alaska, along with representatives from FEMA and the Department...
Governor Mike Dunleavy announced two new statewide health mandates Monday, March 23, in response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 in Alaska. These are the ninth and tenth health mandates the state government has announced regarding the virus. Many local communities have been taking steps of their own to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading further. These mandates, however, are meant to help statewide efforts to combat COVID-19. The first of these two mandates, Mandate 009 took effect on...
Due to the spread of COVID-19 through Alaska, many people and organizations have had to suddenly alter their schedules and day-to-day operations. The Wrangell School District, for example, is looking at an extended closure right at the tail end of the school year. All schools in Alaska are to remain closed until May 1, according to an announcement by Governor Mike Dunleavy, to help mitigate the spread of the virus. This is especially important in Wrangell, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster wrote...
Where were you when the pandemic came to Alaska? Future generations will demand an answer from each of us. Did we change our habits to protect the vulnerable? Did we make sure our elderly neighbors had everything they needed? Long after the virus disappears from the public consciousness, these are the questions we’ll be left to grapple with. For so many, we look to government to provide services during a crisis. We forget, as Franklin Roosevelt once said, that “government is ourselves.” It’s understandable. Few have experienced an event o...
The Recall Dunleavy movement, an ongoing effort to oust Governor Mike Dunleavy from office, has entered into its second round of signature gathering. The group successfully gathered about 49,000 signatures in the first phase of the recall process. According to the organization's website, www.recalldunleavy.com, 21,768 signatures have been gathered as of March 9. Over last weekend, supporters of the recall effort set up shop in Wrangell, adding 66 more signatures to the list. "I think that it's i...
As our nation and the world experiences the life-altering impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, I wanted to take a moment to speak to you directly. If you’ve followed our many press conferences this week, you know that Alaska is rapidly preparing for an outbreak, and that an emergency was declared prior to our first confirmed case. Now that the inevitable first case has occurred, our schools are safely closed, testing requirements have been liberalized, and steps have been taken to protect our seniors. Visitation has been suspended or l...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, seeking to assert calm concerning the new coronavirus threat, said Monday he sees the fall in oil prices as a ``momentary issue’’ that with the stock market will work itself out. The virus has affected global energy prices, with North Slope oil prices around $45 a barrel at the end of last week. The state, which has struggled with a long-running deficit, relies on oil revenue and earnings from its oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, to help pay for government. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp....
PETERSBURG – Sen. Bert Stedman told the community while attending the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce banquet on Saturday that the future of the Alaska Marine Highway System depends on how negotiations go with Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Stedman said that legislators will discuss the AMHS and present possible scenarios to the governor when Dunleavy releases his operating budget; however, without enough votes to override the governor's anticipated vetoes, negotiations won't be too aggressive. "If you don'...
As residents of the towns near the proposed Kake Road, we firmly oppose it. The $40 million raised for this “road to nowhere” should instead support the return of the Alaska Marine Highway System to our coastal Alaskan communities struggling without ferry service. It is one thing to waste taxpayer money on a project no one is asking for, and another to do so while claiming funding for vitally needed and popular ferry services doesn’t exist. This proposal would cross the rugged wilds of Kupreanof Island from the village of Kake to a salt water...
With the M/V Matanuska going out of service last week, ferry service via the Alaska Marine Highway has completely shut down. According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Transportation, new issues have been found with the ferry's reduction gear system. The Matanuska, at the time of writing, is being towed to Ketchikan for repairs. "AMHS is aware of travel needs for upcoming school and community tournaments in March and is exploring options for alternative service in the event...
Governor Mike Dunleavy's planned visits to two Southeast Alaska communities, Petersburg and Wrangell, have been cancelled due to bad weather. Cold temperatures plus snow and rain have made travel around the region difficult. The planned meetings, for Feb. 3 and 4 in Petersburg and Wrangell respectively, were to be part of a town hall series where the governor could receive input on the PFD, services valued, and other topics. "I want to hear your thoughts, understand your concerns, and see your...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska has encouraged residents with immigration problems to contact Gov. Mike Dunleavy after he asked the president to aid his attorney general's family with their immigration documents. Dunleavy sent an official letter to President Donald Trump in December requesting aid for Attorney General Kevin Clarkson, who is seeking documents so his Colombian wife and stepson can live in the United States, Anchorage Daily News reported F...
January 31, 2020 (Juneau, AK) – Today, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced his Conversations with Alaskans town hall series, to further engage with the public on their vision of Alaska’s future, beginning Monday, February 3rd. Governor Dunleavy will be holding meetings with community leaders, business groups, non-profits, school districts, tribes, and the general public in communities across Alaska. “I am looking forward to engaging with Alaskans from every corner of our state in the cruci...
Below is the second half of The Wrangell Sentinel's review of 2019, covering the months of July to December: July July 4 - Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey was recognized for his service to the community at last week's borough assembly meeting. With his retirement at the end of June, McCloskey has closed out 38 years of police work. July 11 - The Fourth of July was a hot and sunny day in Wrangell, but that did not stop many people from getting out and having a good time. Like all previous...
They say good things come in small packages and that’s the case for Alaska cod fishermen heading into the new year. A small cod fishery will occur in Gulf state waters (out to three miles) for 2020, putting to rest speculation that no cod would be coming out of the Gulf next year. A catch quota of about 5.6 million pounds, down from 10.2 million pounds, will be split among five regions: Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, Chignik and the South Alaska Peninsula, with limitations on gear and staggered openers. That will be a relief to thous...
The Borough assembly had a busy night during their meeting on Dec. 10. The meeting opened with a report from State Representative Dan Ortiz. Ortiz said he is going around to the communities he represents, ahead of the next legislative session, to give an update on things in Juneau and to listen to the priorities of his constituents. The next legislative session will be opening on Jan. 21, 2020. Ortiz said that the financial situation for Alaska is largely unchanged from the previous legislative...