Sorted by date Results 601 - 625 of 660
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...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A young Alaska Native woman left an impression on Alaska's territorial Senate in 1945, delivering a speech that led to the passage of the nation's first anti-discrimination law. Now, the late Elizabeth Peratrovich is leaving her impression on a $1 coin. The U.S. Mint unveiled the design of the coin Oct. 5 at the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood convention in Anchorage. The 2020 Native American coin will go on sale early next year. The coin will feat...
Setting up a booth behind Rayme's Bar on Sunday and Monday, Wrangell resident Maleah Wenzel spent her Labor Day weekend taking signatures for the ongoing recall effort against Governor Mike Dunleavy. The governor, like many other people and issues in American politics, has become a source of division in recent months. According to a July 26 memorandum, the recall movement has several reasons they want to see Dunleavy removed from office. Among their claims are Dunleavy violating state law by...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s governor has vetoed additional funding for the state’s ferry service that was placed in the budget by the Legislature, a report said. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed $5 million Monday that was added to the Alaska Marine Highway System budget by the Legislature, CoastAlaska reported Monday. The Legislature previously cut $43 million from the ferry system’s budget. A fiscal note attached by the governor’s office called the budget item “premature’’ ahead of a $250,000 study commissioned to reshape the fer...
Juneau, Alaska (AP) - A spokesman for a union representing workers for the Alaska ferry system says the union has gone on strike. Hundreds of ferry workers went on strike Wednesday after failing to reach agreement on a contract with state negotiators. Robb Arnold, a spokesman for Alaska's Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific, said the strike began Wednesday afternoon after a meeting with state officials did not yield an agreement. He said the union remains open to a deal. "Unfortunately, we had...
Fisheries fare better than most people in terms of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s budget cuts. Just under one million dollars was cut from the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, leaving it with an $85 million budget, half from state general funds. “To give the governor credit, he recognized the return on investment,” said Doug Vincent-Lang, ADF&G Commissioner. “It’s a theme I had all the way through the legislature that we take a $200 million budget of which about $50 million is unrestricted general funds and...
One fisheries item that appears to have escaped Governor Mike Dunleavy’s veto pen so far is his desire to divert local fish taxes from coastal communities into state coffers. Dunleavy’s initial budget in February aimed to repeal the sharing of fisheries business and landing taxes that towns and boroughs split 50/50 with the state. Instead, all of the tax revenues would go to the state’s general fund – a loss of $28 million in FY 2020 to fishing communities. “There is a recognition that these are viewed as shared resources, and they should be...
State Representative Dan Ortiz (I) held a teleconference with constituents in Ketchikan and Wrangell Monday, July 8, to hear public opinions on the state budget, the PFD, and other items. Monday was the start of a second special session of the state legislature, one that has appeared to be just as divisive amongst legislators and Alaskan residents as the previous sessions. One of the hot topics of this session, when it was announced, was whether or not to overturn Governor Mike Dunleavy’s l...
According to a press release from the Wrangell Legislative Information Office, State Representative Dan Ortiz will be holding a teleconference on July 8, from 5 to 6 p.m. to receive feedback from the public on the state budget and the PFD. Both subjects have been the topic of much debate across Alaska recently, with the state legislature struggling to form a budget, some times coming into conflict with Governor Mike Dunleavy's desire for serious budget cuts in certain sectors. The debate has...
Members of the Wrangell School District and the borough assembly came together for a joint workshop on the school district’s recently adopted budget. As Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said in the past, and repeated in Monday evening’s meeting, this was a “no fat” budget that was operating very close to the district’s bare minimum. The FY 2020 budget is assuming $6.34 million in revenue, and almost the same in expenses. In comparison, this is a decrease from the FY 2019 budget which had expenses set at roughly $6.61 million, but still higher th...
Lean times are ahead for the Wrangell School District, according to the budget that was adopted on April 30. Funding for the district has been a topic of much concern ever since Governor Mike Dunleavy released his proposals for the state budget. One of his proposals was a major cut to the Base Student Allocation, a program that gives schools money for every student in their district. It has been very challenging to prepare a budget for the new school year without knowing for sure what was going...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – During Republican Mike Dunleavy’s successful run for governor last year, he offered few specifics for his vision of limited government but was clear that Alaska residents should get a full payout from the state’s oil-wealth fund. Lawmakers and Dunleavy’s predecessor capped the annual checks at $1,600 or less the past few years as they struggled to address a budget deficit that has persisted amid low to middling oil prices and is now estimated at $1.6 billion. Dunleavy’s call for paying the full amount this year, around $3...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly and the Wrangell School Board held a joint work session last Thursday to discuss the school district's proposed budget for the 2020 school year. Earlier this year, Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed a 23 percent cut to the Base Student Allocation, which helps determine the amount of funding a school district receives from the state based on the number of students within the district. Since then, funding for the Wrangell School District has been a topic of much concern...